ShootingStar
by NinjirateGirl
Summary: Naruto AU. Asa and her older brother Rock Lee are new students at Konoha High School. How will they deal with a new home and school? Not to mention Asa's rotten luck to fall in love with the school dunce! NarutoXOC with other OC's and hinted pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Ello, y'all! Ninjy here! So, not only is this my first time on , this is also my first AU! So, I hope you like it. **

**Mad love, Ninjy**

"Asa! It is time to wake up and embrace your youth! Today is the first day of school! Are you not excited?" Rock asks me. I open one eye slightly, and see him balancing on my bedpost on his hand, his legs straight in the air. I take in his long-sleeved dark green shirt and green sweat pants.

"…Rock, I'm sixteen. I'll embrace my youth tomorrow, okay? And _how _do you do that?" I groan, turning onto my side facing away from him.

"I would prefer to be called 'Lee', if it is alright with you, sister. And I learned balance in Karate back at the orphanage! Perhaps you should join." He says, flipping onto the floor. I sigh, and then sit up in bed. He's always so energetic…and he's always talking so _properly_. 'I would prefer…if it is alright…perhaps…' I dunno where he got it.

"Okay, Lee." I say. "it just feels weird calling you by our last name. And _no, _thank you."

He smiles at me as he cartwheels out of my room. Yeah, I could do that if I _felt_ like it. But I never have, and I never will. So there you go. I get up and get dressed in a green short sleeved shirt and olive pants. I _really_ wish Guy and Rock, oh, _Lee_, would let me buy something that isn't green. But nope, that's the only color allowed in this house clothing-wise. I hear Guy whistling as he cooks breakfast.

"Asa! You said you'd meet those pen-pals of yours at seven-thirty! It's already six! Come down and eat breakfast." Guy shouts. I step heavily down the stairs and into the kitchen. I see him at the stove, cooking eggs in an outfit that looks almost exactly like my brother's, only he's wearing olive green denim pants instead of sweats.

"I doubt they're even up now, Guy." I say quietly and annoyed. He looks at me, a tear stream running down his face.

"What?"

"Why won't you call me Daddy? Lee's already started to call me Father, isn't that right, Son?" he turns to Lee, who's stuffing his face with eggs, then quickly swallows.

"Right, Father!" he says. Both of them get wide-eyed, and they run and hug each other, sobbing.

"Well, I mean, we just moved in with you about three months ago. I'm sure I'll be calling you…"

"Daddy."

"Yeah. Daddy, before ya know it." I say, mostly to just stop him from crying. Who knows, maybe I will think of him as a dad sometime. Heck, Lee and I already look like him. My brother and I were in that orphanage ever since I was six. We were sent there after our parent's…well, we're not sure what happened to them. But we never saw them much anyways, so it wasn't too different. One day, a man with a bowl-cut and large eyebrows came in wanting some teenagers to "share his youth" with. He saw that Lee and I already looked like we could be related…and here we are.

~After breakfast~

"So, you two run off to school, and I'll see you in Gym today!" he shouts, pushing us out the door. Getting adopted by the gym teacher…oh boy.

"Asa, let us jog to school!" Lee says, starting to leave. I run, but only because I don't want to be left behind. It's not that I'm lazy, really. I'm just not as enthusiastic about exercise.

"Ugh, it's only six forty-five. And the school is only about three blocks away! _And _school doesn't start until eight. So, is running really necessary?" I ask. He just grins at me and keeps jogging, so I do too.

"A jog is a great way to start the day! Besides, it's our first day at our new school. And I thought you're going to meet those pen-pals, Kaiya and Mai?"

"Well, yeah. At seven-thirty, in the park by the school." I tell him. Kaiya Hyuuga and Mai Yamanaka. I've been e-mailing them for over a year, and we're already pretty close. I already know who to trust and who to avoid at school thanks to them. Actually, it's because of them that we're going to this school. There are a few schools in our area, and Guy let us choose which one we'd go to, so I automatically said the same one that Kaiya and Mai go to. Konoha High.

"I cannot wait to be part of the Karate Club! Father is the sponsor, you know."

"Oh, yeah. What's the team's name again? Samurai, warriors…"

"We are the Konoha Ninjas!" he replies, punching the air.

"Right…but this town isn't called Konoha, is it? So why is that our school name?" We live in Kiha. As far as I know, there isn't a town called Konoha at all.

"I do not know. But that is not the point! Ah, here we are. Konoha High School."

"Yeah…hey, is that…I think that's them! They're early." I say, looking at my cell phone clock. Seven fifteen.

"Perhaps they were anxious to meet you." He says, then puts his hand on my shoulder.

"I will see you later, okay? And please, come find me if you need me." He smiles.

"Okay. Thanks, Lee." I say, smiling back, and then jog up to where two now-squealing girls are waiting by some swings.

"OMC, I can't believe you're finally here! So, you know who we are, right?" says the girl with waist-length brown hair and pink eyes, as they both rush to over to meet me, and we hug. The brown-haired girl's wearing jean capris, white flip flops, and a black form-fitting v-neck tee with a pink undershirt. She also has a necklace on a black chain. The charm is a red cloud with a diamond in the middle.

"Of course! You're Kaiya, and you're Mai." I say, looking at her, then at the other girl, who has magenta waist length hair, and eyes that are pretty much the same color. She's wearing tan shorts and an olive-green shirt with brown sandals.

"Aw, where's your brother? We wanted to meet him, too." Mai tells me.

"Oh, he went to see about joining the Karate club. He's really excited about it." I say. They both grin.

"That's cool! Have you thought about what club you might be interested in?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet." I say, looking at the sky in thought. Kaiya and Mai each take one of my hands and lead me to the school.

"So, where's Itachi? I want to see this boyfriend you're so crazy about." I comment, turning to Kaiya. She blushes as she pulls me across the grounds and into the school.

"Here, you'll see him in a sec! And then we'll show you Shikamaru, Mai's soon-to-be boyfriend." She grins, looking over at her. Mai ducks her head, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, right! I remember you saying you like him." I say quietly, as the hallways start to fill.

"Yeah. So hey, I heard your…uh…" Mai starts. I'm pretty sure she's referring to Guy, so I finish for her.

"Yeah, Guy is going to be the new gym teacher." I tell her. She smiles at me.

"Cool. Is he tough?"

"Well, he's really into running, so we'll probably be doing that a lot." I sigh. Both girls groan.

"Hey, you're new here, right?" says a rough voice behind me. I turn around to see a boy not much taller than me, with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Asa Lee." I say, holding my hand out without looking, still looking in his eyes. He looks amused as he shakes my hand.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I met your brother, Rock Lee. We're gonna be in Karate together." He says smiling.

"Oh, that's cool. Uh…what's up?" I ask, noticing that he's looking at my forehead.

"Sorry, it's just…your brother has really bushy eyebrows, but you don't." he says, looking confused. I smirk to hide my slight annoyance. Why is it that whenever someone finds out I'm related to Lee, they expect me to have big eyebrows? Ugh.

"Yeah, he's pretty proud of his eyebrows. I've never really had a problem with his or mine." I smile. He grins at me, and then turns to Kaiya and Mai.

"So she's going to be in our class, you said?" They both nod.

"Yup, she just has to check in with the _Guidance Counselor_." Kaiya says, implying something to Naruto. Mai chuckles.

"Yeah. Here, I'll take you." He says. The girls glare at him.

"Hey! We just got to meet her! You can't just take her." Mai complains.

"Relax! You'll see her later." He smiles, gently pushing my back as he starts to walk down the hall. I turn back to the girls, who still look upset.

"Hey, I'll see you guys in class, okay?" I say with a small smile. They both brighten as they nod.

"So, how long have you been in town?" he asks, looking at me.

"About three months now."

"Where at?"

"Might Guy's house."

"You live _there_? Man, I said your brother has big brows, but Guy's are practically alive, they're so big." He laughs. I feel a crooked smile on my face.

"Maybe, but he's really nice." I say politely, defending him. Naruto looks at me with a guilty look on his face.

"Oh, uh…hey, I didn't mean…"

"It's fine. He can be a little…different. But he's been good to my brother and me." I explain. He nods his head, then stops walking and looks into the window of a door. He knocks quietly, then pushes the handle down and walks in.

"Ah, Naruto. And who's this?" the Counselor asks, turning in his chair and standing. Wow, he looks…

"She's the new student. Asa Lee." Naruto explains. He looks…

Just like Naruto.

"Asa, this is my dad, Minato Uzumaki."

**Alright, well. That's it! I hope you liked it! I'd love to see some reviews :)**

**P.S: I know the Fourth Hokage's last name isn't Uzumaki, but it felt right to me.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, Naruto. And who's this?" the Counselor asks, turning in his chair and standing. Wow, he looks…

"She's the new student. Asa Lee." Naruto explains. He looks…

Just like Naruto.

"Asa, this is my dad, Minato Uzumaki."

"Oh, uh…hello there, Uzumaki-sensei." I say, holding out my hand. He takes it with his own, and then we pull away. He looks _exactly_ like Naruto, except for the clothes. Naruto's wearing a black t-shirt with flames along the bottom, and dark blue jeans. Uzumaki-sensei has on a white button-up shirt and black pants.

"Well, I have your class schedule right here, so I think it's about time you headed to class, ok? Naruto will take you, right son?" he says, turning to smile at Naruto.

"Yeah, we're on our way. Bye, dad." He says, walking out the door. I look back and smile at him, then turn and rush through the door.

"Naruto! Wait for me!" I shout quietly…if that's possible. I tried, anyways.

"Don't worry, our classroom's right here." He says, smiling as he opens the door.

"Hey, everybody! This is Asa Lee, and she's gonna be in our class." Naruto exclaims to the whole class, while I resist the urge to run back out of the room. The teacher looks over from his desk. He has a bandage over his left eye, and is wearing a light gray jacket with a collar high enough to hide his face.

"Ah, hello there. I'm your teacher, Hatake-sensei." He says, with a smile in his voice. And maybe on his face, too. The collar makes it hard to tell.

"Hello, sir. And uhm…hi, everybody." I say, turning to the class as they look up at me.

"…hi…" they all say, some more enthusiastic than others.  
"WOO! Hi, Asa!" Kaiya and Mai shout together, and then grin as everyone turns to look at them. They wave frantically at an empty desk between their desks.

"Well well, I think we've found you a spot." Hatake-Sensei tells me. I walk up to the desk and sit down. My first class on my first day of school.

Oh boy.

~After class~

"Itachiiiii!" Kaiya says, rushing up to hug her boyfriend. He smiles as he hugs her back.

"Hello to you too, Kaiya. Hello, Mai. And…who's this?" he asks politely, looking at me.

"Uh, heh…I'm Asa. Asa Lee." I say, holding out my hand. He grabs it with his own, keeping one arm wrapped around Kaiya.

"Lee…I think I've met your brother."

"Yeah, he's kinda hard to forget." I say, smiling. Just then, Lee comes up to us, putting his hand on my head.

"Hello! You must be Asa's friends. It is an honor to meet you both." He says, bowing as he learned in karate.

"Eheheee…_stand up!" _I hiss, embarrassed. He looks at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, have I embarrassed you? Please forgive me!" he begs, kneeling with his forehead on the floor.

"Awww…forgive him, Asa!" Mai and Kaiya say. I sigh and kneel down next to him.

"I wasn't mad at you, Lee! Come on, bro." I smile, taking his hand and pulling him up.

"Thank you. Well, I must be off to class! I shall see you all later." He says, then jogs away.

"Aww, he is so cute!" Kaiya exclaims. We all turn to look at her, and Itachi raises his eyebrows.

"No, not like that! I meant that I wanna pinch his cheek! He's…he's moe (huggable)!"

We all nod in understanding…although I didn't really understand. My big brother is…cute and huggable? Like a teddy bear? Huh.

"Oh, there's my sister! Ino, Ino!" Mai calls to a girl with blue eyes and a waist length blonde ponytail. She comes over to us, dressed in a purple blouse with a black miniskirt and dark leggings.

"Hey, Mai." She greets us. Mai walks over and pushes me forward.

"This is Asa, my e-mail pen pal!" she explains. I smile and wave at Ino, and she confusedly waves back.

"Hey, Asa. It's nice to meet you. Well, I should go. And so should you, the bells gonna ring any minute!" Ino says, smiling as she walks off.

"Oh, right! I'll see you later, Itachi." Kaiya says, reaching up to give Itachi a small kiss. Kaiya and Mai lead me through the halls and to our next class. We walk in, and the first thing I notice is…this teacher _really _likes snakes. There are about six snakes in tanks, and snake posters covering the walls. There are more white snakes than anything else. A boy walks up to us with a partly sinister smile. He's a few years older than us, probably already graduated. He has large, round glasses on, and black eyes behind them. He also has short grey hair.

"Hello. You must be the new girl. Asa Lee, sister of Rock Lee, adopted by Might Guy. Doesn't enjoy exercising, and-"

"Alright, Kabuto. We already know that you're a stalker." Mai says, rolling her eyes.

"Not true. I just…keep tabs on everyone. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Yes, there is. Anyways, Asa, this is Kabuto Yakushi, he's Orochimaru-sensei's teacher's aid." Kaiya explains. During the conversation, the classroom had been filling with students. Normally, they'd all be sitting on desks or standing, talking to friends. But everyone sat at their desks, looking almost afraid. The door starts to open, and Mai and Kaiya rush to their seats, pulling me with them. The teacher walks in, and I can see why no one wants to be on his bad side. He's very pale, with long black hair and an almost evil grin. His light green, almost golden eyes glide over all of the students, and stop on me.

"Who are you?" he asks, almost angrily. I'd _really _rather sink under my desk, but I take a deep breath and stand up.

"I'm…uh, I'm Asa Lee…sir." I say, adding the 'sir' in hopes of keeping him from…I don't even wanna know what he could do to me.

"Asa…aha, welcome to Science. I am Orochimaru-sensei." He grins. I nod and look down at my desk, hoping that's the end of the conversation. Thankfully, it is, and the rest of the class goes by without incident.

~After class~

"Stupid snake nerd, giving us so much homework." Naruto mumbles as the four of us walk through the halls.

"Shh! Omc, do you want him to _kill_ us?" Kaiya hisses. I answer the last question on the paper and look up at the others.

"Do you guys want help later?" I ask. Naruto takes my paper out of my hands and look through the sheets at all of the answered questions.

"You're already done? We just got the papers five minutes before the bell rang!" he says in surprise.

"Well, I guess I've always been good with animals. I know a lot about them." I say. Then I turn to him, and he's…copying my answers. I take my homework back.

"Hey hey hey! I said I'd _help_ you, not give you the answers."

"But by giving us the answers, you _are _helping us." Kaiya says. I can see that she's joking though. Naruto crosses his arms and looks down at me.

"Alright, fine. Help us out at lunch, okay?" Naruto says, putting his papers away as I nod. The next class is…oh, great.

Gym.

"AAAALRIIIIGHTY! Everybody, outside! We're gonna run five-hundred laps!" Guy shouts, causing the whole class to groan. I jog over to him.

"Uh, I don't think that's-"

"Asa! How's your first day going, kiddo?" he asks, grinning at me.

"Good, so far. Thanks. But, uh…five hundred laps? Is that possible for fifty minutes?" I ask.

"Of course it is, if you believe it is! But you're right, not everyone can do that…yet! We'll take it slowly." He says.

"Oh, thanks!" I say. Everyone gets outside and hesitates, looking at Guy.

"Just run! Running is the surest way to embrace your youth! GO!" he bellows. Everyone starts, some running, most jogging, and a few walking.

"No walking! If you want to get stronger, then you have to run." He shouts. The walkers start to go a little faster. Just a little.

"Asa, I know you don't like running, but you should show them how it's done." Guy says, smiling at me. I nod, and take off, quickly overpowering the walkers, passing the joggers, and then heading off the runners, who look at me in shock. I shrug, then pass them. What can I say? Guy made sure we were able to run.

~Class ends~

Guy comes up to me at the end, as I lean against a pole, trying to breathe. I managed to stay ahead of everybody, but I might end up dying because of it. Oh, fun.

"Way to go, Asa! I'm proud." He tells me, patting me on the back.

"Th…thanks…" I gasp. I stand there for another minute, then gain enough breath to walk back into the school to change clothes.

"What was _that_?" Kaiya asks. I look at her questioningly. Mai comes up to us.

"I thought you hated exercise." She adds. I nod.

"I do. But Guy wants me and my brother to run with him everyday, so he trained us to run." Both girls grimace, and I nod. We finish changing and walk out of the locker room.

"Well, are you ready to go to lunch? Cause I'm ready to eat!" Mai exclaims. We all laugh.

"Oh, but Asa has a date with Naruto at lunch." Kaiya teases, looking over at me.

"I'm helping him with his _homework_. Besides, I thought you were coming too."

"Uhm…nope! That way, you and Naruto can have a little alone time." She grins.

"I just met him! Why do we need alone time?"

"Asa, cant you see…oh, wow." She shakes her head.

"What? What are you saying?"

* * *

Woo! Chapter 2 is down! PLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE review :)

-Ninjy


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's the next one! Review~ please! :D and me **no **own Naruto~. :3

-Ninjy

* * *

I walk into the cafeteria, Kaiya and Mai still giggling a few feet behind me as I go through the lunch line, picking up three onigiri and a dango stick. I pay the lady at the end, then look for that blonde spiked hair. Naruto waves me over to a small table near the window and I shoot a look at Mai and Kaiya. They both wink at me before going over to sit by Itachi. I sigh and walk over to Naruto's table, smiling. Then I frown as I notice he doesn't have his backpack or his homework. Did he finish already?

"Hey, Naruto…where's your paper?" I ask. He looks at me, and then rolls his eyes with a smile.

"Please, you think I'm _actually_ gonna work on homework?" he wonders. I look down at my tray and tear an onigiri apart.

"Well, I don't really know _what_ to think. I kinda just met you."

"Then I'll tell you. I never do schoolwork. It's lame." He explains. I look at him, confused.

"But you asked me to…"

"I just wanted to find a way to ask you to sit with me at lunch." He says simply. I look down again, hoping he can't see the slight blush on my cheeks.

"I…I would've said yes anyways…" I mumble. He grins, then digs into his ramen. He speaks with a full mouth.

"So, what's your next class?" he wonders. I dig through my backpack and pull out my schedule.

"Algebra with… Sarutobi-sensei." I say. He nods and swallows.

"Yeah, he's alright. He always smells like smoke, though." He tells me. I look at the rest of my schedule.

"Then I've got Home Ec with Mitarashi and Art with Deidara."

"Blech, you've got Anko? Why did you take Home Ec?" Naruto asks.

"Because Guy can't cook, and I like eating." I tell him. That's really the only reason.

"Hm. Well, Deidara's insane. A serious quack."

"Are you always this positive?" I ask him. I _so_ don't want to hear about all of the terrible teachers I have. He smiles sheepishly.

"Ah…sorry. Uhm, are you in any clubs?" he asks. I shake my head. Mai and Kaiya asked the same thing this morning, but I still don't know what to join.

"Well, you said you were good with animals, right? We have a Nature club." He tells me. I look at him, interested.

"Who all's in it?"

"Let's see…Shino Aburame. I don't know much about him, but he likes bugs. Kiba Inuzuka's really into dogs and wolves. I think he's obnoxious. And of course, Orochimaru is the sponsor." He says. Doesn't sound like a good mix, but…

"Alright, I'll join." I say. He looks at me in surprise.

"They meet in Orochimaru's room after school. I'll walk you there."

"I-I think I remember where it is…thanks, though." I tell him. He shakes his head, looking stubborn.

"Nope, I'll take you there. Are you sure though? You'd be the only girl there."

"Why does that matter?" I wonder. He looks at the table, and doesn't say anything. Suddenly, the bell rings, and everyone stands up to head off to class. Mai and Kaiya run over to our table, and Kaiya crashes into me.

"Guess what? You and Mai have Home Ec together! Isn't that awesome?" she exclaims.

"Yeah! So, let's go, 'cause I have no idea where it is." I tell them. The four of us walk into the busy halls, and someone bumps into Naruto, who then bumps into me.

"Watch it, Naruto!" says the bumper. He's got black hair that sticks up in the back, and he's wearing a dark blue tee with a white-and-red ball thing printed on it, along with dark jeans. Behind him is a girl with…ah, pink hair? What's up with that?

"_You_ bumped into _me_, you know." Naruto said, his eyes narrowed. The dark-haired boy grunted, then looked over at me.

"Who are you?" he asks tonelessly.

"Mad."

"You're Mad?"

"Yes, because you just bumped into me." I tell him. He looks at me, confused, and the pink-haired girl giggles.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." She tells me.

"Asa Lee." I tell her. The boy looks at me, surprised.

"Lee? Like, Rock Lee?"

"Yeah, he's my brother."

"Well, same hair and eye color…your eyebrows look normal, though." He tells me. I resist the urge to clench my fists.

"Gee, thanks. Anyways, I've got to go now. Bye." I walk off to where Kaiya and Mai are standing a few feet away.

"What's with him?" I ask them when we're far enough away, near our lockers.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Yeah, he's kind of the bad-boy heartthrob of the school. He's Itachi's younger brother." Kaiya says, obviously not impressed by him. Neither is Mai.

"Sakura's his girlfriend…kinda."

"Kinda? What's that about?"

"Basically, he lets her walk next to him in the hallway and come over to his house."

"Ah, okay." I say, still _very_ confused. I go upstairs to get to my Algebra class. Naruto was right, Sarutobi-Sensei does smell like smoke. But he's nice, and we don't even have any homework today, so that's no homework today so far! After Algebra comes Home Ec, with Mai. I walk into the Home Ec room, and sitting on the teacher's desk—yup, _on_—is a woman with brown eyes and black hair that's spiked in the back. She's got tall dark boots, black pants, and a red tee.

"All right, kiddies! Today, you're gonna make dango! And it better be good, too, or you're all going to fail." She snaps menacingly. Everyone in the room nods, and rushes into the kitchen. Luckily, dango is one thing I already know how to make.

"Uh, just to be safe, what flavor does she like?" I ask Mai, who's already pulling out ingredients like a pro. She smiles sarcastically.

"Blood-flavored." She jokes, and the kids around us chuckle. I, however, now feel extremely creeped out.

"I-I think I'll just stick with mango." I say, and then start cooking. Half an hour later, Mitarashi-sensei has eaten almost every dango in the classroom and has now come to mine. She glares at them, then picks them up and scarf's them down.

"Not bad. You pass." She says simply, then moves to the last few kids. I smile at Mai, who grins back. She passed, too.

After Home Ec is art. And again, Naruto is right. Deidara is _obsessed_ with clay, and spent the whole class period talking about how useful it is, and how art is made of moments of "fleeting beauty" or something like that. Huh…guess who's dropping next semester! Me!

Finally, the school day comes to an end, and Lee and Guy come up to see me before heading off to Karate Class.

"Have you found something to keep you busy after school?" Guy asks.

"I'm thinking about joining the Nature Club, and-"

"Hey, Asa! You ready to go?" Naruto shouts from somewhere behind me.

_Not in front of Guy, please leave, not in front of Guy!_

"Who are you, and why are you talking to my girl?" Guy asks, trying to look intimidating. Naruto doesn't look very intimidated.

"I told Asa I'd walk her to her club. And I'm Naruto. I'm in the Karate club, remember?" he says, annoyed. Guy nods.

"Of course! Alright, you've got my permission, but I'm warning you-"

"Bye, Guy! Bye, Lee!" I say, grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him away while he chuckles.

"He _still_ doesn't remember me…" Naruto mutters. Before I can say something, we stop in front of the Science room. He opens the door, and inside are Orochimaru-sensei, Kabuto, a boy wearing sunglasses and holding a bug tank, and a boy reading a dog magazine. Interesting bunch. The boy reading the magazine stands up.

"Naruto, why are you here? And who's that?" he nods in my direction.

"I'm here to drop her off. Her name's Asa, and she wants to join the club." He explains. The boy laughs loudly.

"Finally, a pretty girl joins the club. My name's Kiba." He grins cockily. I nod once, not sure what else to say.

Maybe the Nature club isn't such a good idea after all…


	4. Chapter 4

Well, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it~ :)

I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but I do own Asa, Kaiya, and Mai.

~Ninjy

* * *

"Back off, Dog Boy." Naruto growls when Kiba gets a _little _too close. The boy in sunglasses doesn't even look in our direction.

"Don't mind him; he's not usually like this. He just likes to show off."

"Shut it, Shino!" Kiba snaps at him, but the boy, Shino, ignores him. Orochimaru walks over and puts his face close to mine. I resist the urge to back all the way against the wall. I think he'd find that hilarious.

"So, you want to join our organization?" he asks in an extremely creepy, power-hungry voice.

"Um, I was told to join a club, but hey, an organization works too, I guess." I say, unable to resist the power of heavy sarcasm. I expect him to melt me with a glare, but he grins instead. I kinda wish he'd glare at me instead.

Naruto's been glaring between Orochimaru and Kiba, and looking over at me, too. He doesn't seem to like this any more than I do, but I'm not gonna quit now. That's what they want, the jerkwads.

"So, do I have to sign a contract or something?" in blood? I think to myself. Orochimaru grins at me again. Like everything amuses him. Would a fist in his face amuse him? Naruto steps a little farther in front of me.

"Hold on, Asa. Before you go around signing yourself to these…_people_, maybe you should think about this." He says, concerned. I consider that. I mean, I think Kiba might not be so bad, once I get to know him. Maybe. And Shino doesn't seem that bad. But I'd _really _hate to spend any extra time with Orochimaru. Or Kabuto, who's just been studying me like he's looking for something interesting to file away. Creep. Maybe I shouldn't join…

"Ah, how bad could it be? This looks like a lovely group." I smile. Because I'd rather spend every waking minute with Orochimaru-sensei (shudder) than have them laugh at me because I ran away. Stupid pride.

"Ugh…come with me!" Naruto says, glaring at everyone in the room before pulling me into the hall.

"I don't like this. I mean, I didn't like it before…"

"I'm pretty sure you told me about it."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about it!" he snapped, frustrated. I tried to hide the slight hurt. I just met this guy today, and I didn't do anything to me, and now he's yelling at me for something _he_ suggested. But I think he realized this, too, because a second later he looked guilty.

"I…look, I'm sorry. Really. It's just…people usually think I'm annoying, you know?" he looks at me sadly. I tilt my head. That's terrible, but I don't really see what this has to do with me.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I think you're pretty nice, when you're not all snappy."

"And that's my point! You're one of the only people here who even acknowledges that I even exist, not to mention that you actually want to be my friend!" then he looks at me, nervously. "You…want me as a friend, right?"

"Of course, Naruto. And I appreciate your concern, but…how bad can this be? Who knows, maybe Orochimaru-sensei has a good side."

"Huh! I doubt that!" he scoffs.

"Well, I…yeah, me too. Hey…dude, you're seriously late for your own club!" I tell him. He grins. His is a _lot _nicer than Orochimaru-sensei's.

"Yeah, but he probably doesn't even remember I exist."

"Usually, but today you're with me, so he's probably got your face on his dartboard."

"Harsh."

"Yup." I smile. He looks down at the ground, and then opens the door to the science room without looking up.

"Careful." He mutters. I walk in, looking confident, as I look them all in the eyes. Well, except for Shino, but he's got sunglasses so that doesn't count.

"Alright, so I'm gonna join this club. What do I gotta do?" I ask, hands on hips. Kabuto grins and jerks his arm like he's throwing something. My hands jerk out just in time to keep the toad from hitting the ground. Its cheeks bulge and deflated rapidly, like it's having a little froggy heart attack. Poor guy.

"What was that for?" I ask him. His eyes narrow in amusement, and then I get it. Duh. I'm a girl, so I'm supposed to hate frogs. But I don't. I think he's kind of cute. I secretly name him Kinoko. It means Mushroom. Suddenly Orochimaru-sensei shoves his hand in my face, and I see the dark green snake twining around his fingers. Its not that big, though.

"Not scared of snakes either, Orochimaru-sensei." I say, then look over at the other two. Kiba looks like he's getting annoyed with their little "Let's Scare the Girl" game. Maybe he's not so bad! I'm secretly waiting for Shino to put a tarantula on my head. I might freak out. Okay, never mind. I WILL TOTALLY freak out. I. Hate. Spiders. Blech. But Shino doesn't seem like the kind of person to do that.

Orochimaru's finally annoyed with my lack of response. He shoves some papers into my arms, and I drop a few.

"Fill these out. They're sign-up forms, plus a quiz to see how much you know. And don't you dare cheat." He adds in a hissing voice. Gulp. He looks from me to the door, and I get the point. Fine. Jerkwad. I walk out the door and decide to head to the school gym, where the Karate club practices. They wouldn't mind if I sat on the bleachers, right? I open the gym door, and the first thing I notice is that they aren't wearing shirts. I don't usually notice that first, but I was expecting the white Karate _Gi_. Or maybe green, since Guy is the sponsor. Feeling a little more awkward, I walk into the gym and quietly climb to the top row of the bleachers. I glance over the papers they gave me, but I quickly get distracted by the sound of fists hitting…well, just about everything. I look for the spiky blonde hair, and I see Naruto in a sparring match with Sasuke. Sasuke's fist clouts Naruto across his face. I…I _think _they're just sparring. Then Naruto jumps, spinning, and kicks Sasuke in the side, causing him to turn before hitting the ground. He jumps right back up, murder in his eyes. I shouldn't get involved…I wad some papers into a ball and throw it, hitting Sasuke in the eye. I hunch between two bleachers. I know, I'm a coward. But that was a hard punch he threw!

"What are you doing here, Asa?" I hear pretty much every guy in the room ask. Ah, crap. I come out of my hiding place to see everyone looking up at me. I guess they had all noticed the fight? Or the giant wad of paper flying through the air?

"Uh…they told me I needed to fill out some papers before I could join my club, so I came here to fill them in." I say sheepishly. Naruto reaches down and grabs the papers from the ground, then raises an eyebrow as if to say, "You mean _these _papers?"

"You mean the papers you used to hit me in the freaking eye?" Sasuke snaps. I nod. Guy runs up the bleachers in like **.**2 seconds.

"Go apologize to Sasuke. That was their fight." He told me. I tried to keep the anger off my face, but I'm sure he saw it in my eyes.

"What?"

"He punched Naruto in the face!" I hissed, so only he could hear. The other boys were still looking at us, and Lee was standing halfway up the bleachers.

"…well, that's not allowed, but it's still not your fight. Please go apologize." He commands. I sigh, then stomp down the bleachers. As I pass Lee, he looks at me sympathetically. I get to the floor and march up to Sasuke.

"Look, I'm sorry I butted in, alright?" I say, trying to sound sincere. I know that I shouldn't have, but…he punched Naruto! That's not right! I glance in Naruto's direction, and he smiles encouragingly at me.

"Hunh. Whatever. Naruto needs all the help he can get anyways. But don't start what you're afraid to finish." Sasuke replies, not looking at me. My face flushes in anger as I nod.

And then I get myself into more trouble.

I sweep my foot hard against the inside of his, making him fall to the ground. And then I fall right on top of him, putting all of my weight into my fist as it falls towards his face. It makes a loud smack as it connects with his cheek, then Naruto's arms wrap around me as he pulls me away. Sasuke stands up, glaring furiously at me. Both Lee and Guy step between us and Itachi puts his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Guy looks at me disappointed. I don't think I've ever seen him really mad, but his disappointed face is bad enough.

"Asa, go sit in the hall until practice is over."

"So I'm just supposed to stand there while he-"

"In the hall, Asa!" he orders. I sigh in frustration and stomp out of the gym. But instead of waiting, I go ahead and head home. I'm gonna have to face him anyways.


	5. Chapter 5

When I get home, I consider going to bed. But that won't stop Guy from talking to me. He'll just wake me up, and then I'll be grumpy, and we'll both say things we'll end up regretting. With a sigh I start filling out my club papers, when suddenly my phone vibrates. I check the screen, figuring Guy noticed I'd left and was texting me, but it was an unknown number.

_**Hey, it's Naruto. U ok?**_

_** Yeah...how did you get my number?**_

_** Stole it from Dads off.**_

_** Are you allowed to do that?**_I ask, but I'm actually surprised, and kind of flattered. I wait for the response, but it doesn't come for another ten minutes. And it's not Naruto, it's Lee.

_Are you at home? You are not in the hall._

_ I'm in the hall. I'm just invisible, silly. _I try to lighten up the mood. Then he calls me. Nope, didn't work.

"Hello?"

"_Sister, this is serious! Are you at home?" _he sounds pretty worried.

"Yes, Lee. I walked home. Is that…is someone crying?" I wonder from the noises in the background.

_"Father was very worried. He thought you ran away because you were angry."_

"Nah, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"_Well, we'll be there in five minutes. Goodbye, Asa." _He hangs up. Actually, it takes Guy three minutes before the door blasts open.

"Asa! Oh, I thought I'd lost you. Running away would destroy your youth, you know."

"And what a tragedy that'd be." I say. He clears his throat and puts his hands on his hips while Lee walks through the door.

"Alright, Asa. You should know that I was disappointed with your behavior today. First, you interfered in a fight that wasn't yours to get into, and then you get in a fight of your own. Tell me, what exactly did he say?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm sorry I disappointed you. Can I go to bed now?" I plead. I didn't want to get mad all over again. Apparently, he didn't want that either, because he nods and I head up the stairs.

~The next day~

"Everyone's saying _you_ did that to Sasuke. Is that true?" Mai as we walk through the hall, towards Kaiya and Itachi…making out. And her hand's under his shirt. I look away, but Mai just wolf whistles and laughs when they jump apart.

"Omc, it's the Annihilator! You didn't come to pound on the other Uchiha brother, did you?" Kaiya teases, smiling. I look up at Itachi, who doesn't look mad that I punched his brother.

"As long as the other Uchiha brother doesn't pound on me to avenge his brother, I think I can control myself." I say half-jokingly. Itachi shakes his head with an amused look.

"No, I think it was a good lesson for him. He doesn't feel the same way, though." He finishes, giving me an apologetic look. Suddenly, I get tackled from behind as someone throws their arm around my neck. _Oh man, Sasuke's gonna choke me to death! _

"Hey, guys!" The newcomer exclaims. Oh…it's Naruto. With his arm around my shoulders! I concentrate on keeping the blush and grin off my face. I mean, it's not like I've got a crush on him or anything…

"So, word on the street is you need a bodyguard." He looks at me, almost seriously. Uh, what?

"Uh, what?" Yep, sometimes you've got to say what you think.

"Asa! Did you finish those papers?" Orochimaru-sensei calls. For the love of…can I finish one conversation? And Orochimaru-sensei looks really ticked. Uh-oh…

"I need those papers." He snaps. I dig them out of my backpack without a word and hand them to him. He shoots a final glare at me, and I feel like I'll never get the amused grin again. I'm glad…I think.

"Don't mind him." Naruto says when he's gone. "He's just mad because you punched his stalkee."

"I thought Kabuto was the stalker?" I wonder, confused. I didn't think Orochimaru-sensei would stalk somebody…especially someone like Sasuke.

"Yeah, I think old Snake-Face has a crush on Sasuke or something." He looks close to gagging, kind of how I feel. We walk to my locker, which is right next to…Sakura's. And a glaring Sakura, at that. Well, that's another enemy made. Man, today is not my day. I try to fix the situation a little.

"Ah, Sakura…what happened with me and Sasuke, it wasn't anything against you. We can still be friends, right?" I ask. Wow, I just sound like she caught us on a date or something. And she glares at me like it, too. And then walks away. Sighing, I look around for more possible enemies. So far so good…

"Those two are at it again." Naruto states. I follow his gaze to the end of the hallway where, sure enough, Itachi and Kaiya are kissing again, almost hidden behind a corner. The other kids in the hallway shake their heads like they're used to it. I turn to Naruto, desperate to change the subject.

"So…you got my number from your Dad's office?" He grins at me.

"Yup! I couldn't figure out who to ask. Lee might kill me, Guy would _definitely _kill me, and Mai and Kaiya are still mad at me for stealing you away half-"

"Hey!" Sasuke shouts, walking towards us with a murderous look in his eyes and a large bruise on his cheek. Haha!

Naruto steps in front of me. "Look, you got what you deserved, all right? She apologized, and you bit her head off."

"She should have apologized, after throwing that stupid paper into my eye!"

"You hit Naruto across the face!" I accuse. Naruto looks back at me, wide-eyed.

"That's why you did it?" I nod. Naruto looks back at Sasuke, even more determined than before. Sasuke looks from him to me, and then walks away without another word.

"What just happened?" I ask, seriously confused. But Naruto doesn't pay any attention, he just continues to stare at me with a look of surprise. I wonder how long it'll be until the bell-

_Riiiiiiiing!_

Heh, I'm good. I rush off to class, looking back at Naruto, who just stands there. What's wrong with him?

I get to Kakashi-Sensei's classroom right before the bell rings, and we all continue our history lesson. It's not too exciting, but Mai and Kaiya make everything amusing, you know? When that class is over, I head to my locker to get my science book. Ugh, I'm not looking forward to Orochimaru-sensei's glare. As I walk into the classroom, Naruto brushes past me, tossing a note onto my textbook without looking at me. I sit down and open the note slowly.

_**Did you really throw that paper because he punched me? Why? **_I decide to be sarcastic. I write down my response, and then slide the note on the ground.

…_**Because he punched you. Didn't we just establish that?**___He glares at me jokingly, then writes back. I feel like a rebel, passing notes in Orochimaru-sensei's class. Wow, I'm lame. But he's too busy showing off his new snake or something, anyways.

_**I know that! I mean, why would that bother you? **_He watched me as I read it and wrote on a new scrap of paper.

_** Because I'm your friend! **_I write. I toss the note onto the floor right before Orochimaru-sensei passes by my desk, and pushes the snake against my cheek. It hisses violently, but I don't dare push it away, in case it (or Orochimaru-sensei) attacks me. Every girl in the class gasps, and the boys all laugh, expecting me to freak out. But I just sit there, looking at the snake out of the corner of my eye.

Mai and Kaiya look ready to defend me with sharpened pencils, but I'm not sure what that'll do… I look over at Naruto next. He's got his hand reached halfway towards me, like he's ready to jump in if the snake decides to strike. Gulp. Finally, Sensei pulls the snake away from my face, still glaring at me. The bell rings, sooner than I expected, and everyone rushes out of their seats. I reach down and snatch the note back into my hand, shoving it into my pocket.

~In the gym~

"Alright class…fifteen three-point shots." Guy says, looking really depressed. I sigh as everyone looks at me questioningly as they pass.

"Uh, what's wrong?" I wonder, hoping it doesn't have anything to do with yesterday. He grabs my shoulders and looks down at me with tears streaming down his face over-dramatically. Oh, boy…

"Just tell me," he sniffs, "where did I go wrong?" he asks. I groan internally. I want to tell him I've only been living with him for three months, not nearly long enough for him to go right _or_ wrong. But I don't think that'll help.

"You've been great, Guy…"

"Dad."

"Right…but it was just…something I had to do."

"Well, I just hope that his parents don't press charges. They could, you know."

"He's in the _Karate_ club, not the Fluffy Bunny club. He pretty much signed up to get hit."

"But not by a girl-"

"Hah, added bonus." I grin, but he shoots me that "That Wasn't Necessary" look. Hate that look.

"And not by someone who isn't even in the club. I can't have people thinking that I'm not punishing you because you're my daughter. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" I salute. I think it's overkill, but he seems to like it, because he nods and points over to where the other students are shooting.

"Now, go make me proud!"


	6. Chapter 6

At lunch, I sit with our now-usual group: Me, Kaiya, Mai, Itachi, Shikamaru (no idea how he got roped in) and Naruto.

"Hey Asa! Nice punch!" I hear for the fifth time since lunch started. Apparently Sasuke isn't that popular. Well, he is with the girls, but none of the guys like him, and they all wish they'd been there to see me hit him, so Naruto fills them in, making it sound all heroic and cool.

"…and he was shooting off his mouth, so she kicks him to the ground and _Bam! _Right in the face!" he exclaims, punching the air. His audience looks at me admiringly. Sasuke's group, however, keeps throwing food at me. So far I've been hit with three grapes, two rolls, and half a sandwich. After that last throw, I pick up an onigiri and hurl it at the table, right in the middle. Rice and jelly explode onto everyone at the table, and I duck down as they turn to glare murderously. My table, however, busts out laughing. I stand up, and everyone goes silent as I walk towards Sasuke's table. They glare at me as I approach.

"What do you want?" a few of them hiss angrily.

"I want us all to be over this stupid thing. I don't know what _you _want from _me_, but this is getting old."

Sasuke looks at me with a blank, emotionless face, his bruise standing out clearly.

"You punched me."

"No duh I frickin punched you! But I'm _trying _to get past all this! You wanna punch me, fine!"

"I can't hit-"

"Oh, please! Then just have Sakura punch me. The point is, I'm tired of this." I snap. By now, Kaiya, Mai, and Naruto are backing me up, looking at me with concern. Lee walks up too, and puts his hand on my shoulder. Sasuke ignores them all, and looks at me.

"…alright. We'll forget all this. But this doesn't mean we're going to be friends or anything."

"Understood." I say, trying unsuccessfully to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, then I walk back towards my table and sit down with my back towards them, looking back at my friends still standing around the table.

"I am proud of you, sister." Lee tells me as he sits down next to me.

"Thanks. I'm just glad it's over." I reply. Naruto and the others come back to the table, and Naruto plops down in front of me.

"Yup! So, I've got something to ask." Naruto says, completely changing the subject. I look at him.

"Are you coming to the Karate tournament next week?" he asks expectantly.

"Yeah! Gotta cheer on my brother, right?" I say, grinning. Naruto looks at me, offended.

"Just him?"

"Yup. Who _else_ would I cheer for, Naruto?"

"Well…me!" he exclaims, laying his head on the table. I laugh and take a bite of my apple.

"Of course I'm gonna cheer for you too!" I tell him. He grins, probably the biggest grin I'd ever seen.

"Great! I'm going to go practice then, so you'll _really_ have something to cheer for!" he exclaims, then runs off towards the gym. Kaiya and Mai shake their heads, and I look at them curiously.

"You've really changed him. And you've only been here for a week!" Kaiya says.

"Changed him? What do you mean?"

"He's a prankster," Mai explains, "and an annoying, in-your-face one at that. He was actually kind of a loner before you showed up." Kaiya nods.

"He doesn't seem like the kind of person who likes being alone." I comment sadly. Poor Naruto.

"That's what we're saying! I mean, Mai and I talked to him, but you guys are pretty close. Have you given him your phone number yet?" Kaiya wonders, resting her head on her hand.

"Uh, yeah, he's got my number." I say. I didn't exactly give it to him, but I would have if he'd asked me.

With perfect timing, my phone vibrates, and I look at Naruto's picture on the screen. He's holding his fingers in the "victory" sign and sticking his tongue out. I smile as I open the phone to read his message.

_**Hey, do u want 2 come ovr to my house 2day? My mom's making ramen! **_Making ramen? Sounds…interesting.

_Sure, sounds great! What time should I come by?_

_**We'll walk 2gether after school. K?**_

_Okay!_

"Why do you type everything out like that? Teens invented text talk for a reason, you know!" Naruto says from behind me. I slap the table in surprise.

"Ow! When did you get behind me?" I ask, ticked about my hand.

"After I said we'd walk together."

"What was the point of texting me if you were on your way?"

"I wanted to see what it was like texting you." He says innocently. Kaiya and Mai "aww" next to us.

"You're a really boring texter." He finishes. I hear "Ooh" from the girls now.

"I learned to spell for a reason, you know!" I say.

"Yeah, to get the teachers off your back, right? That's why I learned."

"If you don't like how I text, find someone else to text with." I mumble, not sure whether or not I want him to hear it. By the sudden guilt on his face, he apparently does.

"Uh, hey…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He says, sitting next to me. I don't answer, so he casually leans over and puts his arm around my shoulder. I can already feel my frown trying to disappear. I glance at the arm, my apparent Kryptonite…wow, did I really just say that?

"Come on, Greenie. I-"

"Greenie? Where'd you get that?"

"Because you always wear green. Seriously, change it up, will ya?" he jokes. Before I can respond, the bell rings. I gather up my backpack.

"Not allowed. You ever see Lee or Guy wear something other than green?" I ask. He shakes his head, then looks at me with a planning smile.

"What?" but he shakes his head and rushes off. Mai and Kaiya watch him curiously, then look at me. I shrug and we walk to our next classes.

I don't see Naruto at all during the rest of school, which kind of worries me. I mean, I thought he was going to walk me to his house…I walk outside, intending to walk home, when Naruto suddenly appears behind me, grinning.

"Naruto! Where have you been?"

"…not at school." He says vaguely. I glare at him jokingly, but he just smiles at me and nudges me forward. The walk to his house is short. And quiet. We've hardly said a word to each other when he opens the door to a nice-looking two-story white house. Inside, I can smell the miso broth through the whole house. Mmm.

Naruto walks into the kitchen and out of view. "Hey Mom, Asa's here." He says, then walks back into the room with a pretty red-headed woman following behind him. She smiles at me.

"Hello, Asa. I'm Naruto's mother, Kushina." She smiles a little longer, then walks back into the kitchen. Naruto takes my arm and leads me towards the staircase.

"Where are we going?" I wonder.

"To my room." He says, looking back at me with a flirty smile, which changes into a grin as my eyes widen. I swallow and look away. We walk up the stairs, and he opens the door. The walls are white, but the bedspread and rugs are orange.

"Nice room…hey, what are you doing!" I quickly turn away from him. "You could've told me to leave if you wanted to change your clothes!"

"I thought that would be rude." He says from behind me. I can hear him laughing over the rustle of clothes. He walks back in front of me, wearing a plain white t-shirt and black pants. And, although I kinda wish I didn't know this, he's wearing red boxers with frogs on it underneath.

"Did you like the view?" he asks, still laughing as I turn red. Because actually…I did.

"Naruto, Asa! Dinner's ready!" his father calls up the stairs.

"I didn't hear him come in." I state as we walk into the hallway.

"Yeah, you were too busy staring at me while I was changing." He teases. I elbow him in the stomach, then run forwards and down the stairs. About the third stair down, however, I trip and roll the rest of the way down. Yeah, very attractive. Naruto rushes down after me, not stumbling a bit. Yeah, well, he's used to these stairs.

"Asa! Are you okay? What were you thinking, running down the stairs?" I hear from everyone. Great, now I'm a klutz. I sit up and look around at Naruto and his family, looking at me with concern.

"I, I'm fine. No worries. Dinner smells great." I say, trying not to wince as I stand up. My legs are killing me! Kushina and Minato, Naruto's dad, smile at me while Naruto helps me up.

"What was that?" he hisses in my ear. I look over to see him still looking at me with concern.

"I thought I'd try a more interesting way of going down stairs." I sit at the table, and Kushina starts serving the ramen. I look around the table, at Naruto's kind mother and good-natured father. Actually, I already feel like part of the family. Which is ridiculous, because Naruto and I are only friends…

Aren't we?


	7. Chapter 7

"Asa! Come on, today is a most exciting day!" Lee shouts outside my door.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I love Tuesdays." I grunt, hiding under my green comforter.

"Aw, don't you remember? Today is the Karate Tournament. You said you would be there to cheer for me and Naruto, right?"

"NARUTO! Why would she cheer for him?" Guy shouts from the kitchen. I slip off the bed and open my bedroom door.

"We're friends, Guy!" I close the door and get dressed, in a dark green off-the-shoulder sweater and green skinny jeans with brown boots. _Seriously, would a little color kill me?_

"Friends, huh? This Naruto boy…where have I met him before?" Guy asks as I walk into the kitchen.

"He's in the Karate-"

"Are you ready for the tournament, Lee?" _Cut me off, why don't you?_

"Absolutely!" Lee shouts. Guy shouts a reply, hands me a sandwich, and pushes us out the door.

"Great! I'll see you there!" he quickly closes the door. You know, I feel like I'm raising myself sometimes.

~~At the school~~

"Hey, Asa! I've got something for ya!" Naruto shouts, running up to me after Lee runs (yes, _runs_) towards the school. I turn around and see Naruto in an orange t-shirt with dark orange pants.

"Nice outfit. Going hunting?" I joke.

"I could ask you the same thing." He comments, looking at my green outfit. "And if I was, I wouldn't tell you, Miss Animal Lover." He grins, pulling a red box out of his pocket.

"Like I said, I got something for you." He repeats, holding the box out to me. A gift? How sweet! I grab it but don't take it out of his hand.

"When did you get this?" I ask, smiling.

"Yesterday."

"Wait…is that why you weren't at school?" he grins again.

"Yup! This was more important." He says, pushing the box my way. Inside, I find an orange chain bracelet with a red swirl charm and bells hanging off it. I gasp.

"I love it! You got this for me! Aw!" I grin. He steps forward and fastens it around my wrist.

"I thought the bells would help you stand out…not that you need help with—oof!" he stops as I throw my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek.

"Amazing."

"What?"

"You!" I tell him. He laughs and puts his arms around me.

"Knock it off, you two!" A blonde woman shouts at some kids on the schoolyard. Except, that woman is the principal, and the kids are me and Naruto. I pull away and turn towards her.

"Oh, sor-"

"Aw, come one Granny!" Naruto sticks his tongue out at her. She glares at him, but walks off without a word. I turn to him, still smiling.

"Naruto! That was the principal!"

"I know. I _have_ been here longer than you, remember? But Granny Tsunade won't do much about it. Her bark's worse than her bite…usually." The bell rings, and I give him one more quick hug before running off to Hatake-Sensei's class. I slip into my desk between Kaiya and Mai.

"Asa! It feels like we haven't seen you in forever!" Kaiya exclaims.

"Aw, it was only yesterday. But I know what you mean!"

"Yeah, we need to hang out more," Mai nods. "And where'd you get that bracelet? It's pretty!"

"Thanks! Naruto…Naruto gave it to me." I tell them. Kaiya almost squeals.

"OMC, really? How sweet!" she sighs. Meanwhile, Hatake-Sensei walks to the front of the room and clears his throat.

"Listen, everyone. We're about to start term papers," groans from the class, "so you need to start thinking about topics…"

"Ugh, I hate term papers." Mai exclaims, looking through the requirement papers after class. Kaiya nods, looking around for Itachi before finding him at her locker, already waiting for her.

"Aw, Itachi!" she runs towards him and wraps her arms around his waist. Chuckling, he puts his arms around her waist.

"Hey Kaiya. And friends." He says, nodding to us. "Mother has a grocery list ready. She was hoping you would come with us." Itachi states.

"Who's 'us'?" she wonders.

"Sasuke and me."

"_Now _I know why she wants me and Asa to go." I stare at her.

"W-wait, she doesn't want Asa to go!" I say.

"Go where?" Naruto asks, coming up behind me and putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Asa's going shopping with Kaiya, Sasuke, and I." Itachi looks at me.

"Itachi, not you too!" "Her and Sasuke? Are you crazy?" the first was me; the second comment was Naruto's.

"As long as Kaiya and I are both there, Sasuke can't do anything."

"Why is he going? Why am _I _going?" I whine.

"Sasuke is always forced to go on these trips, for 'brother bonding." Itachi explains.

"And _you're_ coming because I don't like being the only girl."

"And I don't like grocery shopping!" Mai adds helpfully, earning a glare from me. Naruto frowns.

"But Itachi, the tournament's tonight!"

"It's alright; we're going right after school, so we'll be back in plenty of time."

~Parking lot, after school~

Sighing, I walk up Itachi's black Toyota car, and then hide when I see Sasuke already leaning against it. I peek over at him. He looks annoyed and bored, but that's his usual expression. He checks his phone and types something. It's probably Sakura…oh, man. I feel like a stalker. I hear footsteps moments before I see Kaiya and Itachi walking, hand in hand, toward the car.

"Have you seen Asa?" Kaiya asks. Sasuke looks up at her, then Itachi, in surprise.

"Why is _she _coming?" he asks just as I come out from behind a car. Kaiya comes up to me and pulls me to the car.

"Because I invited her, and _I'm _in charge on these trips." she states. With that said, she shoves all of us into the car, me and Sasuke in the back, sitting as far apart as possible. Kaiya sits in the passenger seat and Itachi's driving. The ride is fun…if you're in the front two seats. If not, it's very uncomfortable and awkward. Sasuke spent most of the time pointedly not looking at me, and then suddenly he'd glance over at me angrily.

"So, how often do you guys so this?"

"Sasuke and I do this every weekend. Kaiya comes with us half the time; otherwise we tend to not get the right groceries."

"But you have a list." He smiles.

"We don't always follow it. Here we are." Itachi pulls into a parking lot, leaving me confused.

Shopping with Kaiya and the Uchiha brothers is…weird. Shopping itself is pretty normal, but it's awkward. I pushed the cart while Kaiya and Itachi look over the shopping list, holding hands. Sasuke walk quietly a few feet behind us. Every few minutes or so Kaiya and Itachi laughed together as they grabbed something off the shelf. I sigh.

"So, Sasuke…you uh, are you ready for the tournament?" I ask politely. He glances at me from the corners of his eyes and nods. I turn away, not wanting to overstep our…truce thing. And that's pretty much the grocery trip. It's not the nightmare I thought it would be, so that's a plus.

The car ride was a little better on the way back. Sasuke and I still sit far apart, but it doesn't feel _quite _as awkward as before. I look forward and see Kaiya lean over to share a kiss with Itachi. It's really sweet. I wonder if Naruto and I will ever be that way? I can't really see it.

But what I can see is Naruto, Lee, and everyone else kicking butt tonight! It's time for Karate!


	8. Chapter 8

"Wow, I didn't think there would be so many people here! It's a good thing we came early…" I say as we struggle to find seats.

"Hey, Asa! Over here!" Lee shouts as Naruto waves to us. Mai, Kaiya, and I walk over to the chairs they have waiting, right behind the bench where our team is sitting. Everyone's dressed in white Karate Gi and…they all have black belts! Awesome!

"Hey, Naruto! If you guys win, can I wear your belt tomorrow?" I ask excitedly.

Lee's eyes widen. "Sister! The belt is a symbol of a fighter's-"

"Of course you can wear it!" Naruto grins, not noticing Lee's protests. "You got your bracelet?"

I hold up my wrist, causing it to jingle softly. "Yup! I'm gonna jingle it really loud when you're up! Unless that would mess you up…I didn't think of that."

"Thinking's for brainiacs. When I'm fighting, you guys should make as much noise as you can!"

"That shouldn't be a problem for you, Mai!" Kaiya teases. Mai hits her in the stomach with a mock scowl. Itachi comes up in time to notice Kaiya doubling over slightly.

"What happened, Kaiya?" he asked, concerned.

She glares and points at Mai. "This _thing_ happened!" she wheezes. They glare at each other for a second, and then suddenly burst out laughing, both of them doubling over. A brown-haired boy from another team saunters over, looking smug and disgusted with the laughing girls.

"Hi! What school are you from?" I chirp, trying to sound friendly. He glares at me.

"Not yours, fortunately." He sneers. My eyes narrow; I'm already over the whole "nice" thing.

"Yeah, I think I'd remember you…or maybe not. I'd probably try my best to forget a face that looks like yours."

Naruto and the others snicker next to me. Lee looks at him angrily.

"Do not speak so disrespectfully to my sister! We are your opponents, not her."

"Opponents? Don't flatter yourself. You're only here to entertain us until the judges decide to give us the prize."

My hands clench. "Yeah? Well maybe my fist can entertain your face, Jerk!" I pull my hand back, but Guy's angry voice stops me cold.

"Asa, don't you dare fight here! The tournament hasn't started, and you're not in it." He looks at me silently, then nods to Lee and walks back towards the other Karate coaches, towing the rude brunette boy next to him. Lee sighs.

"Asa, when did you become such a rebel?"

"A rebel? I'm not a rebel! I just…"

"I think Naruto's a bad influence." Naruto looks at him, indignant.

"I am not a bad influence! I don't get into fights!"

"You're in Karate!" he glares.

"So are you!" Naruto counters. Lee pauses, caught off guard. Everyone glares at me, expecting me to fix it. Um…

"Hey, guys? Could we do this later, please? I think—"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMENT, THE TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS."

"Good luck bro!" I reach over the short wall separating us to hug him.

"Thank you. I shall do my best, and surely I will be victorious!"

"Definitely!" I nod, and then look over at Naruto, who's looking over at the other teams. "Hey, Naruto!" he looks over distractedly. I lean forward and kiss him on the cheek. "Good luck." He blushes and turns away without a word. I feel myself deflate a bit. Why'd he turn away like that? He could say _something_. He turns his head to look at me, but his eyes don't quite meet mine before he turns away again.

"AND NOW, FOR THE FIRST MATCH," the announcer booms. The room goes quiet. "YUMARU ICHI AND DAN TENAKA."

Although I'm disappointed that I won't get to see our team go up first, I am interested when the jerk who came up to us earlier stands up, along with a small boy a little more than half his size.

Aw…I was kind of hoping the jerky guy would get beat. This isn't fair to that kid!

They step up to the mat and square off. The flags go down, and Jerk Guy rushes towards the kid, ready to bowl him over...

…and then I can barely keep from busting my gut as the little boy throws Jerk over his shoulder and pins him to the ground! He gets tapped out, and the little boy gets up, looking surprised. So…it's not that _this_ kid is really good, it's just that Jerk Guy…

Well, he sucks. And he proves it, because the next two rounds go the exact same way. The other boy looks like he's waiting for Jerk to beat the crap out of him, but he never does.

"This guy's all talk and no action! He sucks!" Kaiya whispers. Mai and I nod.

"Seriously, _I _could pulverize him." Mai replies.

"Don't get cocky now. You couldn't even fight off my cat, remember?"

"Well, maybe if you made him put down the kibble! That thing weighs like fifty pounds!"

"He does not!"

"ROUND ONE GOES TO YUMARU ICHI OF TAKI HIGH SCHOOL," The announcer's voice suddenly booms through the gymnasium. Rounds of applause, even by some of Dan's teammates, while he sits there sulking. Naruto looks back at me, amused.

"I was kind of hoping to beat that jerk, but I guess that would be too easy now." He grins. I smile back, and his face blanks as he turns back around. Not again…

"NEXT ROUND…NARUTO UZUMAKI AND HAJIME KAZUO."

Mai, Kaiya, and I all shout loudly while I jingle my bracelet in the air. He turns and smiles at me—finally!—and then walks onto the mat towards his waiting opponent. He's about the same size as Naruto, so it should be a pretty even match…but I bet Naruto will still kick his butt!

Hajime comes from the same team as Jerk Dan, but from his sneer, I can tell that he's probably actually _good_ at karate. They square off, Naruto's face growing serious. Then he glances at me with a relieved look on his face, and I smile and wave. And then he actually looks at _me_. Oh…so who's he looking at! I turn around in my seat.

"Oh, hi Mister and Misses Uzumaki! It's good to see you!"

Mrs. Uzumaki smiles at me. "You know Asa, you can call us by our first names. Since you're Naruto's girlfriend…"

"Uh, I am? I mean…am I? Er…look, the match is about to start!"

The boys look at each other, trying to decide who'll make the first move. With a sudden grin, Naruto rushes forward, thrusting his leg in a roundhouse kick, only to flip over Hajime's head and ram that same leg into his back. Everyone admires his athleticism. _That was really cool! How did he learn to do _that_? _

With Hajime splayed on the ground, the first match is called. He stands up with determination and anger clouding his face, and charges first this time, fist aimed at Naruto's face. Naruto ducks to the side, but Hajime grabs his arm and pulls him in the opposite direction, sending him spinning across the floor. I nearly jump out of my chair. Is he alright! I look over at Kaiya and Mai, who look just as worried.

Thankfully he stands up, looking angry but not hurt. _One more match to go…and it's a tie! _

They face each other for the last time, both determined. Hajime runs forward, surprising Naruto enough to grab his arm again and fling him over his head.

"No, Naruto!" I shout with his parents. He steels himself, planting his feet on the ground as he lands. Naruto leaps back above his opponent's head and pulls him over just as he'd just done to Naruto. But he spins out of Naruto's grip, and they both step away, breathing heavily. Naruto throws a punch, only to be blocked by Hajime's kick, which Naruto swats away. He lunges forward, and they go back and forth, punching and kicking while the crowd grows deafeningly loud, excited by the first even fight of the night.

My voice blends into the crowd. "Go, Naruto! Come on, you can beat this guy, no problem!"

I think he heard me, because he takes a deep breath and starts in with a new energy. And he's winning! While the other boy seems to be tiring, Naruto's still going strong! When finally, WHAM! Naruto's fist lands a solid punch, right in the center of Hajime's chest. He loses his breath and, exhausted, he sinks to the ground, leaving Naruto standing victoriously.

"ROUND TWO GOES TO NARUTO UZUMAKI OF KONOHA HIGH SCHOOL," the announcer's voice says monotonously. But everyone on the team is cheering loudly enough to nearly drown him out. I jingle my bracelet again, and he turns around to look at me. He walks off the mat, first slowly, then gaining speed as he rushes towards the bench, his eyes never leaving mine. He's not smiling, but his face isn't withdrawn like it's been all night. He's going pretty fast…

He reaches the bench, but instead of sitting down he kneels, facing me. I grin at him.

"That was—"

I stop talking as he plants his lips on mine. And it's better than I thought it would ever be!

After what feels like both a lifetime and a second he pulls away, but I wrap my hand around his head and pull him back towards me so I can return the favor.

He pulls back again with a grin on his now bright-red face. "I…I've been thinking about that ever since you got here. That's why I was acting so…you know…" I smile.

"Yeah, I—"

"Well it's about time, dude!" Kaiya scolds him after she finishes squealing in joy. Mai nods.

"Yeah! I was starting to think we'd have to come up with a plan to get you guys to smooch."

"Like you have room to talk, Miss. Not-Gonna-Chase-Shikamaru!" Kaiya taunts as Mai turns pale.

"Shush! You've got a big mouth sometimes, you know that!"

I turn away from the arguing girls and back to Naruto, leaning in for another kiss. I pull back when I realize I'm not kissing lips, but a hand.

"I think two is more than enough!" Lee says sternly, pulling his hand away from my face. Ew! I just kissed my brother's hand!

"Not cool, brother."

"I think you should be more concerned by Father's reaction. Look." He points to Guy, standing frozen in place and staring at the space between me and Naruto, who looks just as annoyed by Lee's interference and just as unnerved by Guy's reaction. He sits on the bench, then turns around just enough to glance at me from the corner of his eye and smile at me before turning back.

"Ahem."

Naruto's dad.

Forgot about them.

I turn around, my face flushing again. But they both just grin at me as Kushina winks.

"So, are you?" she asks. I remember our earlier conversation.

"Yeah, I am!"


	9. Chapter 9

After what happened between me and Naruto, it's kind of hard to believe that things are still normal. I guess…it was sort of like we were in our own world for a minute, just the two of us. And then suddenly, we were dropped back into the tournament, with Kaiya jumping in the stands as Itachi took his place on the mat. I cheer for Itachi while trying to calm Kaiya down (who at the moment is shouting some less-than-polite words about the other guy), and then we all settle down as the match begins. I stare at the back of Naruto's head between rounds, hoping he'll look back and show me that heartwarming smile of his.

"…wow. I mean, I figured Itachi would be good at this, but not _that_ good!" I watch as the boys from our team congratulate Itachi on his three-in-a-row KO.

"I knew it all along." Kaiya replies, looking proudly at the Uchiha. "Itachi, that was great!" He smiles at her in response.

Naruto looks at him excitedly. "Yeah, that was awesome! You kicked at his legs, but right as he jumped to dodge _bam_! You hit him right in the stomach!" he punches the air, reliving the moment as if it was his fight.

Lee grins, encouraged by the fact that both of his teammates won their matches. Sasuke, however…he doesn't look happy with Itachi's victory. At all.

I nudge Kaiya and gesture towards him, trying not to attract anyone else's attention. "What's eating him?"

She shrugs, unsympathetic to his anger. "He's always been jealous of Itachi's skill. He's spent his entire life trying to catch up with him. In my freshman year when Itachi and I started dating, I felt kind of bad for him. But Itachi is like the _perfect_ big brother, and Sasuke's only focused on beating him!" she says quietly so that only Mai and I hear her. Mai nods, looking away from the current match.

"Seriously. I mean, we _all_ have to live in the shadows of our older siblings, right?" she adds bitterly. "Ino, the beautiful cheerleader! And me? I'm just-"

"Mai, the beautiful non-cheerleader?" she smiles at me. "Actually, after meeting Lee people expect me to be weird, so…I don't really know _exactly _how you feel, but it's kind of the same. Only opposite, I guess."

"Well, being on my side of the Hyuuga family? Sucks." Kaiya complains. "My dad's twin brother, repeat _twin_," she emphasizes "is my grandmother's favorite, so his family is treated well, and his kids are automatically her favorite grandchildren. I doubt she remembers that Neji and I even exist!"

"You know…I don't think I've met your brother, or your cousins!"

"Well, you totally should come spend the night at my house. The three of us could have a sleepover! And then we could spend the night with you!" she plans. A little alarm goes off in my head. Apparently Mai feels the same way.

"Uh…no offense Asa, but it'd be kind of awkward staying in the same house as our _gym teacher_." Her eyes widen. Kaiya looks surprised, like she just remembered where I live.

"Oh, right! I mean, we'll still come over, though!"

"Believe me, you don't have to. I won't force you guys to try to endure my daily life. It's not for the faint of heart." I look at them seriously, and suddenly the three of us burst out giggling. Naruto turns around, his eyes narrowed curiously. Kaiya stops laughing long enough to look at him squarely.

"Excuse me, but we were talking _about_ you, not _to_ you." She grins again, and we all explode in another giggling fit while I shake my head.

"Not true! It wasn't about you."

"You aren't talking about me?" he asks, eyebrow raised. I nod, smiling. "Well, why not!" he wonders, pretending to be insulted.

"Because…we're trying to keep this pg-rated?" I raise my eyebrow with a grin.

Kaiya smacks me in the stomach as she bursts out laughing.

"Th-that's…really? I mean…uh…"

"Asa!"

"I was _kidding_, bro! Geez…"

"ROUND 6, ROCK LEE AND TOSHIRO KUROSAKI." ( )

"Woo! You can do it Lee!"

"I will!" He steps onto the mat, smiling confidently. A boy with shaggy gray hair looks at him nervously from behind silver bangs.

The match begins, and Lee starts off by sweeping his foot into the air, aiming for Toshiro's head.

"Aah!" he ducks down, crouching on the floor.

"…Toshiro. Toshiro, get up!"

"I quit, I quit! I forfeit the match!"

The arena goes quiet. I look around, wondering what to do next.

"All right, Lee! You did it…sort of!" I shout. The arena grows loud with applause again, and Lee bows, looking happy about "winning," but I know that he's upset. He's always hoping to show everyone what he can do.

"I think you need to work on being less intimidating, bro." I comment as he comes back.

"I am not intimidating!" he glares at me, but he looks like he feels better, so mission accomplished!

Naruto comes up next to him. "Either way, it's a victory!" he grins, causing Lee to smile.

"I suppose it is. Not the victory I wanted, but I'll take it."

The very next round is Sasuke's, another 3-in-a-row KO! He defeats his opponent easily each time, like it's nothing!

"Congratulations, brother."

"Hn."

"Alright team! Congratulations on some major victories! Your youth shines upon us all."

Naruto leans towards me. "This guy's like thirty, right? What's he doing, talking about youth?"

"Thirty's not old, though!"

"Well, it's definitely not youthful." He looks at me from the side, eyebrow raised.

"Naruto, Asa! Front and center!" he shouts at us. I hadn't even realized he's stopped talking. We walk up, both of us nervous.

"What's up?"

"Asa, I have two things to discuss with you. One of those we'll talk about at home, though. Right now, what I want to talk to _both_ of you about is what I saw earlier. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes sir." We say simultaneously. I notice that both of us sound pretty miserable.

Lee walks up and stands next to Guy, which annoys me for some reason.

"Now Naruto, I haven't decided whether or not I trust you yet-"

"That's not fair! Why shouldn't you trust him?"

"You don't know what he was like before you came to school, Asa. He's a troublemaker! He put graffiti all over the walls, cut class, and mouthed off to every teacher."

"…I…I didn't …" I look over at Naruto, stunned. He looks down at the ground, ashamed. I look up at Guy.

"Well, I haven't seen that side of him, and I don't care! We all get into trouble sometimes!"

"As you'll find out firsthand when we get home."

"For what!"

"Don't speak to me like that! Come on, it's time to go. Naruto, where are your parents?"

"They're outside, sir." He mutters, still staring down at the floor.

"Good. Better not keep them waiting then." Guy crosses his arms, looking harshly at him. He no longer resembles the good natured man I see in the mornings, or even just a few minutes before. Now he's cold, with Lee a near perfect copy right next to him.

It's infuriating.

I wrap my arms around Naruto's neck, ignoring Lee and Guy. "Good job tonight, Naruto. I'll see you later, 'kay?"

He doesn't move. He just nods slowly, and walks out the door.

"Look what you did! He was perfectly happy about this tournament, and then-"

"That's enough! Come on now." We walk out into the night, and I watch as Naruto's family drives away.


	10. Chapter 10

"Staring at the ceiling's no fun at all!" I mutter, lying on my bed. I absently reach over and grab my phone, half surprised Guy didn't take it away.

_You okay?_ I hit send and let the phone drop onto my stomach, though it only takes a few seconds for it to buzz.

_**Yeah, I always feel good after my coach chews me out. **_Naruto's sarcasm ticks me off a _lot_, but I decide to ignore it.

_Hey, you spelled everything out! _Hopefully that'll distract him…a little bit.

I'm surprised when I get a text message half a second after I sent it, but it's not Naruto, it's Kaiya.

_U're grounded! I dnt believe it! I havnt been grounded since I was 8! _

_Yeah, me neither. I was pretty quiet in the orphanage, so…_

Another vibration notifies me of Naruto's response. _**I guess**_

This depressed Naruto? Is getting old real quick. _Hey, I'm sorry you got in trouble by Guy, but you aren't the only one who got yelled at! _Seriously, I got in twice as much trouble as he did!

~Last night~

"Guy, that wasn't fair of you at all! You never told me you didn't like him, and you knew we were hanging out!"

"Yes, I knew you were _friends_. Had I known that it had progressed to something more serious, I would have intervened sooner."

"We just moved past the friend thing when you saw us!"

"Then I stopped it just in time." His tone gives no room for compromise, nor does it show any sign of relenting.

"Yeah, _that's_ what you did." I mutter, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"What was that, young lady?"

"Ugh, please don't call me that!" I roll my eyes, and then take a deep breath and settle onto the couch. "So, what else am I in trouble for?"

He sighs, and sits down on the coffee table while Lee goes into the kitchen.

"You've been getting into a lot of fights lately."

"_One_ fight and one _almost_-fight! And both were justified!" I defend myself. I _did_ fight with Sasuke, and I almost hit that Dan kid, but that's it!

"No fights are justified."

"Says the Karate coach." I retort. Guy growls, running his hand over his face.

"Lee! Come talk to your sister." He says, looking at me tiredly. A tremor of guilt runs through me…but I don't let it show. I'm not the only bad guy here!

He walks upstairs as Lee walks into the room and settles in Guy's spot, balancing a plate with a sandwich on it on his lap.

"Would you care for half?" he shows me a small smile, and I suddenly find myself fighting tears as I shake my head.

"Asa, I'm sorry about you and Naruto…"

"Nothing happened between us yet, and you didn't seem all that sorry ten minutes ago." I say sadly. All my anger left when Guy did.

"Only because I care about you. And Guy does too, I promise."

"He's got a funny way of showing it."

"I know. But just try to see things as he sees them, even if only a little." He smiles at me again. How can I? Guy is great, but we have _nothing_ in common. Whereas he and Lee are like twins!

Then he reaches over and places his hand on my head before walking upstairs, plate in hand. A minute later, I do the same. As I reach my bedroom door, I take down the note tacked to it and read the scrawled handwriting.

**I'm sorry, but you're grounded. ~your father**

~Now~

Naruto's message and Kaiya's show up at the same time. I open Kaiya's first, not too keen on speaking to Naruto at the moment.

_Why did u get grounded?_

'_Cuz I've been extra violent lately. _I hit send, and then take a deep breath before opening Naruto's.

_**3…2…1…**_ before I have a chance to even look confused, the phone rings, and his picture takes up my phone screen.

"…hullo?"

"I was wondering when you'd open my text. Are you _that_ mad at me?" he sounds upset, but he still has a joking tone in his voice.

"I'm fairly ticked." I respond seriously. I tried to joke with him earlier, but he shot me down, so why should I be any different?

"I guess I can't blame you…"

"I don't think so."

I hear a quick huff of breath before I hear his voice again. "Sorry. You probably got an earful the whole night, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, do you think we could meet-"

I cut him off. "I'm grounded, so probably not."

"Wait, he's so mad about me and you that he _grounded _you?" his guilt-filled voice is loud in my ear, "that's harsh!"

"It's not because of that. It's because-" _buzz _"Hang on, I'm getting a text from Kaiya."

_Lol. Not cuz u're grounded, but seriously? He's the Karate coach, and he's mad at you for fighting?_

_I said the same thing to him! _"I'm back. I'm grounded for all the fights and almost-fights I've been in lately."

He chuckles. Why does everyone think that's so dang funny? "I guess I kind of see why he'd be upset. I mean, that's really lame, but…you are pretty violent. If there was a girls' Karate club, I'd say you should join, instead of…hey, what happened to the nature club thing?"

I frown, suddenly remembering something that, _dang it,_ proves Guy's point. "Orochimaru-sensei rejected me on the grounds of," I grit my teeth "'attacking another student'."

"Well, I bet _crunch crunch _if it had been anyone _crunch_ other than Sasuke it would have been fine."

"Probably…are you eating?"

"No, why?"

"Because you're crunching." I say, listening to the rustle and crunch on his side. Suddenly it changes to a soft tapping, leaving me _really_ confused.

"Sorry, I was walking through leaves. I'm on the sidewalk now." He explains.

"Where are you off to?" I ask, jealous. I remember when _I _could walk around town…mostly because that was yesterday.

"You'll find out. In 5…"

"More countdowns? I mean, I'm impressed by your counting skills, but…"

Naruto's laugh echoes from outside. "You're a jerk!"

I rush to the window and look down at Naruto. "What are you doing here?" I ask happily.

"Can they hear you?" he asks, looking around for Guy and Lee.

"No, they left for…something. I forgot." Naruto's shoulders droop as he looks at me in disbelief.

"So they're gone, and you're still sitting here?" he sounds like he's going to scold me about it! He runs out of sight, and a moment later the door creaks downstairs. I hurriedly open my bedroom door and walk to the stairs, looking at my blonde intruder below.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you to knock?" I joke. He bounds up the stairs two steps at a time, and purposely bumps into me as he reaches the top.

He looks at me with an eyebrow raised. "Since when should a guy knock to get into his girlfriend's house?"

"I couldn't tell ya," I laugh. "But if Guy or Lee-"

"Stop worrying! Now come on, I want to see your room." He grabs my hand, looking at all of the doors running down the hall.

"If they see you _in my room-_"

"You're still worrying! It's not like we'll be doing anything," he grins devilishly, "Well…not _much_, anyways."

I will my face to _not_ turn red as I open the door to my bedroom.

"Green paint. I figured as much. But I see you managed to sneak in some color." He comments, looking around at my (thankfully clean) room. The walls are, yes, olive green, and the floors are a dark brown wood.

But the comforter is actually a deep purple, and the curtains are red with orange flecks.

"This…doesn't match." He scratches his chin and looks down at my outfit, which _kinda_ matches! But…it's still awful! I didn't expect anyone to come over, so I just changed into a lime green shirt that I bought. Guy was outraged when I showed him, but it's still green, so nerts to him! A pair of dark grey sweatpants completes the outfit, which is screaming "Why is your boyfriend seeing you in this!"

"Uh, I'm gonna go change now. Just a second!" I walk out the door towards the bathroom.

"You're not going to change in your own room?" Naruto calls. I look over my shoulder.

"Asking you to leave seemed rude. And sorry, but I am _not_ okay with changing in front of other people. That's a special skill I don't possess."

"That's a shame." Ignoring that! And I didn't change in front of you!" I look back at him, eyebrow raised. "I changed _behind _you. You were the one who decided to be a Peeping Tammie."

"Either way, _I'm_ not changing in front of _you_."

"Is there someone else you'd change in front of?" he jokes, ducking back into my bedroom as I throw a penny from my pocket at him.

Hidden inside the room, I hear him chuckle. "You know, _this_ is why you're grounded! That penny could've taken my eye out!"

I respond only by slamming the bathroom door shut, before changing into a sea foam green v-neck shirt and dark denim jeans. I walk back into the room, where I see Naruto _lying on my bed_, tossing the bracelet he got me into the air and catching it.

"Think fast." He tosses it over to me, and I hold my hands out…even though I have the coordination of a drunken cat on ice. The bracelet hits me square in the chest and falls into my shirt!

"I don't think fast, obviously." I mutter, resisting the urge to search my cleavage for the jewelry.

Naruto sits up, grinning wildly. He reaches out and rubs the hem of my shirt between his fingers, looking up at me. "Want some help with that?"

"N-n-no…." I look down at his hand, still holding the hem of my shirt, holding it just high enough to see my stomach, which is hardened from running with Guy.

Who walks in and sees Naruto sitting on my bed and holding my shirt.

Repeat, _walks in and sees Naruto sitting on my bed and holding my shirt._

"GET OUT!"

Naruto scrambles off the bed, looking at Guy with the wide eyes of a criminal caught red handed.

"Guy-sensei, we wouldn't-!"

"It's not-!"

"GO!" Naruto rushes out the door, and then his footsteps pound down the staircase.

"Naruto?" Lee's voice chills my blood even more than Guy's did. "What-?"

_SLAM! _The door cuts his question short as Naruto hurries out, taking my happiness with him.

Probably taking the rest of my life with him.

Wish he'd take me with him.


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, so the absolute _worst _yelling match of my life is going to start…right now.

"Naruto, are you okay? You seemed really upset when you walked in. Actually, you didn't _walk_ so much as stomp…which your mother didn't appreciate by the way." I sigh, then walk over to the door. I guess I at least owe Mom an apology.

"Sorry, Mom." I shout down the stairs.

"It's okay, honey!" she shouts back. I can't help smiling; good old Mom. I walk back into the room to where Dad is sitting on the bed. I've always hoped that I'd be like him when I grow up. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna _look_ like him, but its more than that. He's my hero! Which is why I don't want to tell him my problems.

I mean, what happened was _my_ fault. Asa told me we shouldn't be in her room, and what do I say? "Stop worrying." And now look what happened!

"Son, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking."

"Thinking? Huh, this _is _serious."

"Dad, I've got real problems here!" normally I'd think that was funny-I really do hate thinking-but I'm not in the mood for joking!

I feel bad when he immediately stops grinning though. I shouldn't be a jerk to him.

"Sorry, Dad. It's just…I went over to Asa's house today."

"Your mother and I saw her at the tournament. We both think she's a great girl, in case you were wondering."

"I think so too! Thanks. But…I messed up."

"Did you two get in a fight?"

"No, nothing like that. I was in her room-"

"Naruto-"

"Hang on, Dad! No need to get into full on parent-mode!" he's got that stupid-idea look on his face. "We weren't going to do anything, promise." He nods like he really believes me, which is great. "And well…Guy came home when we were hanging out in her room, and he got really mad."

"Can you blame him? Honestly, I can see why he'd be upset." I nod, because I understand too, mostly. And that wasn't even the half of it. I'm not going to tell him that I was holding her shirt because 1. That doesn't help _my _case any, and 2. Gross. There are some things you just shouldn't tell your parents.

"He already didn't like me. He was around for…uh, well you know." All that stuff he said at the tournament…graffiti, cutting class, everything was true.

Dad ruffles my hair and smiles at me. "Everyone makes mistakes, Son. But the thing is…you've been completely well-behaved since she came here." I wince slightly at the well-behaved part, because seriously? That makes me sound like a kid, or a dog. "How did she react to that?" Being the Guidance Counselor means that Dad's pretty good at this stuff, which is cool. He tries to figure out how everybody involved feels.

And this time I've got good news to tell him, at least. "Actually, she said that she hasn't seen that side of me, and she doesn't really care. She really likes me, Dad!" I say happily.

"That's great. And it seems like you really like her too…"

"I do!" I say with as much enthusiasm as possible!

He nods and stands up. "So I'm sure we can work something out with Guy." I follow him down the stairs and into the living room, smiling at my mom when we pass her in the kitchen.

"How about I call him? Invite him over for a barbecue or something?"

"Barbecue! We haven't had one of those in forever! That'd be perfect!"

I officially have the best parents ever.

I stand there, waiting for Guy to give me the worst punishment ever. He kneels down, probably so he'll be able to yell at me better. I get my arsenal of arguments going in my head…and they melt away when he pulls me into a hug. Guiltily I hug him back.

I've been…it doesn't really feel like I've done anything, but I could've tried harder for his sake. He's not even old enough to be our father, and yet he's trying so hard!

"I understand that you're going to make mistakes in your life. That's a part of youth! And I realize I've been a bit harsh with you. Forgive me?" he pulls back and smiles his winning grin at me. I nod with as much enthusiasm as possible! (Sound familiar?)

"Yeah! And I'm really sorry. I know that I've been kind of a pain, and you had every right to be mad!" This time, I pull him into a hug. "Thanks, Dad."

When he pulls back and looks at me, it's like his lifelong goal had been reached, and I kind of feel that way too.

…okay, so technically his goal is to face Hatake-sensei in an all-day, winner-takes-all karate tournament. But it sounded nice.

Guy, Lee and I are all sitting around the table eating the "Curry of Life" -it's scarier than it sounds- when the phone rings. Guy stands up and walks easily over to the phone.

"Hello? Oh, Minato, it's good to hear from you…yes, things were a little rough, but…please tell Naruto that I can _hear_ him, and I forgive him." he suddenly laughs, a really good sign! "I hear that too, yes…I'm glad he's feeling better about this. He really is a good kid, Minato. You and Kushina have done well with him….a barbecue? I appreciate the thought Minato, but that's not necessary! As far as I'm concerned, everything's alright…well, if you insist! Who am I to turn down wonderful cooking?" he laughs again, and I'm practically jumping in my seat with happiness.

"Thank you very much! We'll see you tomorrow then." He hangs up the phone with a grin. "Mr. Uzumaki invited us to his house for a barbecue tomorrow. Lee, you wanna make some dessert?" Lee secretly loves to cook. He stands up and salutes, then heads straight into the kitchen.

"I shall make the Pie of Youth!"

"Hey, bro?"

"Yes, Asa?"

"Could you maybe make it _not green_?"

"I don't think so."

/

We ring the doorbell to Naruto's house, and Kushina opens the door with a kind smile.

"Come on in! Naruto's in the back watering the plants." This sounds weird, but pretty cool at the same time. I think it's awesome! I walk into the backyard, and see Naruto leaning over some leafy plants, muttering happily to himself. Talking to plants is supposed to help them grow, after all! I sneak up behind him, and then throw my arms around his neck lightly.

He turns his head, immediately throwing the watering can to the ground.

"Asa! I was just…I saw a snake, and I was going to catch it so it wouldn't bother you or my mom." He says, trying to sound heroic. Even though he already knows I'm not scared of snakes, and his mom doesn't look like she spooks easily either.

"That's too bad," I arrange my face into a pout, trying not to grin, "I thought you were doing something sexy, like watering the plants."

"You don't _really _think that, do you?" his eyebrow lifts as he smiles skeptically.

"Oh yes, I really do."

"Well then, I guess I'm the sexiest guy alive."

"I already figured that." He grins at me and turns me around to face him, putting his arms around my waist.

"I'm glad Guy's okay with this now."

"Well, maybe not _this_," I gesture to his arms and he chuckles, "but I'm happy that he's alright with you and me." I grin, and reach up to kiss him. His lips meet mine, and we stand there, caught in our own little world again.

That is, until the back door opens, and we both pull away so fast that I stumble, falling onto the hard concrete ground as Naruto's parents, Lee, and Dad (its getting easier to think of him that way) walk out, carrying dishes of food.

Minato notices me on the ground. "Do you usually fall down, or is that something you only do at our house?"

"If I said I only do it here, would you feel special?" we both grin as Naruto helps me off the ground. Everyone sits at the large metal-lattice table; Minato, with Kushina on his left and Dad on his right. Lee's next to Dad, and I'm next to him, with Naruto between me and his mom.

Dinner at the Uzumaki house is fun! There's a lot of laughing and joking, and Dad tells a bunch of stories about the Karate tournaments he's entered, which even had Naruto interested. Not to mention the food, which is pretty much the best barbecue I've ever eaten! Naruto's mom did an amazing job, just like when she made ramen. I spend most of my time listening and playing with the bracelet Naruto got.

Suddenly Minato clears his throat, and everyone turns to look at him.

"Now I know that everything is alright now, and that this was supposed to be strictly a fun time, but just so we're all cleared up…is there anything anyone would like to say?" Naruto, Dad, and I all bite our cheeks, not sure whether we should bring anything up.

"Uh…" Naruto starts nervously, and I reach over to grab his hand. He smiles at me and continues. "I just wanted to say…I know it was wrong for me to come over without your permission, and I'm sorry."

Dad grins, the pinnacle of forgiveness. "That's all right. You're young, I understand. Just promise you'll act responsibly."

Naruto nods. "The thought never even crossed my mind, believe it!"

"Yeah, we were…wait, _never_?" I look over at him, but everyone ignores me.

"I'm glad to hear that. Just try to keep it that way, okay?"

"Yes sir!"

"Come on, not even a little bit?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I was very happy with the way you fought at the Tournament, Naruto."

"Thanks! That was one of my best fights, I think."

"I mean, I know I'm not the hottest thing alive, but I'm pretty fit."

"And you and Sasuke seem to be on even ground during practice."

"Yeah? I hadn't really noticed, but you're right!"

"Dude, I'm frickin sexy!"

"Did you say something, Asa?"

"No!" Dad recoils slightly, muttering about "womanly changes" and other things that I _do_ _not want to talk about_.

I sit there, pouting and contemplating my sexiness, while Naruto asks me what I had been saying. (Which is kind of embarrassing. What was I thinking, blurting that out loud!)

/

It's almost dark by the time we leave. We said our goodbyes-Naruto's was by far the most memorable-and we start the trek down our street, with me trying to convince Dad that while exercise is nice, a car would be useful as well. He just smiles and tells me how exercise and youth go hand in hand-mind you, he says that about everything.

This turned out to be a pretty great weekend.


	12. Chapter 12

Dad walks with us to school today, which is kind of nice. All around us, birds are chirping and the sun is shining warmly, making today easily one of the nicest days we've had around here. At school, kids are lounging around, lying on jackets and playing with Frisbees. Dad notices Shikamaru napping on a bench, and walks over to him, waking him up and scolding him about wasting his youth by sleeping. Lee walks over to a girl with long black hair and pretty, wide lavender eyes, stopping to salute before he approached her. _Note to self: Find out who that girl is. Then arrange date for her and Lee._ Formulating a plan, I look around for Kaiya and Mai. I spot Kaiya's brown hair, bouncing with her as she talks excitedly to Itachi. Scanning the yard, I look back at where Dad was talking to Shikamaru. Dad was gone, but Mai was there listening to Shikamaru's grumbling.

Two orange-clad arms wrapped around me from behind and a rough voice chuckled in my ear.

"How's it going?" I purr, looking up at him with a smile. He looks at me, then with lighting fast reflexes he pushes me away, running towards the football field.

_It's so cute how he thinks he can outrun me! _I follow after him with an easy pace, glaring at him when he looks back boastfully at me. I suddenly speed up, grinning as I pass in front of him.

"Care to explain yourself?" I ask, eyebrows raised. He glares at me playfully.

"Nope! I don't have-waaaah!" he shouts out as I run towards him, tackling him to the ground.

"How bout now?" I smile and help him up, keeping hold of his hand as we head towards the school. "So what are you doing your term paper over?"

"…it's like you don't know me at all!"

"Aw, come on Ru!" he pauses, pulling me to a stop with him.

"Ru?"

"Yeah…no…it slipped out." I say, towing him along again. I thought it was kind of cute…he looks up thoughtfully.

"You're not gonna call me that in front of a whole bunch of people, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

"Alright then, that's fine! I'm still not doing my term paper though."

"But it's worth a large part of your grade! What would your parents say?"

"My dad would say 'that's not a good decision, but if its one that you can live with…' and then he'd shake his head and look at me like that's gonna change my mind. And Mom would just tell me that she'd be happy to help me if I changed my mind, which I should."

"Yeah, well…I'm not as easy-going, as you're about to find out."

He looks at me like I'm a dangerous animal. "What do you mean by that?"

"You," I poke his chest for emphasis, "are going to write that paper, if I have to tie you to a chair and force you!"

"Sounds kind of kinky." He grins at me, and I glare in response. But I'm sure that my red-faced half-hearted stare isn't very effective…

"Yeah, well…its not."

"Great comeback."

"Shut up!"

"Oh, another zinger!" he laughs in a way that I can't resist, and so we walk into the school hand in hand, cracking up loudly.

"You look like you're having fun!" Kaiya laughs. I wipe my eyes and nod.

"Yeah, good times! How was your weekend?" I ask, sobering.

"I was training for my swim meet tomorrow, of course!"

Shocked, I look at her. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Oh…I forgot?" she rubs the back of her head with an apologetic look. "But you're totally invited!"

"Ooh, but I've got plans…" she pouts exaggeratedly, and I can't hold back a giggle. "Of course I'm going to come! I'll bring air horns and everything."

She jumps "You should! That would be awesome."

Today's class assignment is to plan our term papers, according to Hatake-sensei. He pulls out his book, completely oblivious to the class. Or so it seems, anyway.

"Naruto, don't even think about hitting me with that rubber band. I don't feel like giving out detentions today, but I'm sure Orochimaru-sensei would take you." You'd think he'd threatened to cut off one of his limbs from the way Naruto was looking at him. Grumbling, he picks up his chair and brings it to the back towards my desk. Mai and Kaiya have already set up around me too, so it's just one big study party at my desk.

"That guy has no sense of humor…" Naruto grumbles, flipping absently through his completely-blank notebook. "It's not like I'm failing this class anyway! I've got a C."

"It's a D, Naruto. You just changed it on your report card and convinced yourself it was a C." Kakashi doesn't even look up from his book! Naruto glowers at him.

"You turned a D into a C? That's kind of impressive…if the grade wasn't so bad to begin with." I raise my eyebrows at him, causing him to grin sheepishly. "Now, come on! Maybe you could write about ninja! They're pretty cool." I say encouragingly.

Naruto raises his voice, "Nah, old-man Kakashi would never let me do something that cool."

"Asa already cleared the ninja subject with me, Naruto. You have no excuses."

Naruto's eyes narrow as they drift over towards me. "Traitor." My hands go up defensively.

"Just trying to help. How about we go to the library and see what they have?"

"Leaving school is cool with me, but to go to the _library_?" he sticks his tongue out and starts drawing a ninja onto his notebook.

"I meant the one here, at school?"

"…"

"Naruto?" he thinks hard, focusing on something really deep.

"…the school has a library?" Never mind. I shake my head and drag him from the desk, waving goodbye to Kaiya and Mai, busy laughing their heads off at Naruto's recent discovery.

"We're going to the library, Sensei!"

"Good luck." He looks up at me sympathetically, watching me pull the plodding Naruto along. _He doesn't _look_ heavy, but Naruto's as stubborn as a mule, and seems to weigh as much! _He continues to drag his feet the entire way, before suddenly stopping. He pulls me to him and turns me.

"We're here," his voice is low, and I try to steel myself against his ruse, "in the hallway all alone, and you really want to waste this time studying?" He brings his face close to mine, and I'm pulled into his deep blue eyes.

"Well…" he looks hopeful, "yes, actually I do." And then he deflates.

"…that's not fair! I worked hard on perfecting that move!"

"Yeah, well I'm stronger than that. So sorry." I grin, not at all sorry. It was a good move though…had this _not _been an important part of our grades, I probably would have given in. But I'm not telling him that!

I pull him behind me, and he resumes his feet-dragging all the way to the library.

"So this is the library…?" he looks around at the tall bookshelves and all of the tables. "I wasn't missing out on much. It's just books."

Ignoring his last comment, I march over to the computer on the librarian's desk and type "ninja" into the search bar. It comes up with twelve hits, but seven of them are fictional.

"Okay, first off is this guy. Where are the Fs?" I spot them next to the Es (go figure) and drag Mr. Reluctant to the bookshelf. "Find it."

He stares at me like I just told him to jump off a cliff. "Find it? How?"

"The author's last name is Fushi. So, look for the first three letters…you're pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not touching you!" then he _does_ pull on my leg, nearly dragging me down!

"Come on, surely you know how to look for a book in the library?"

"No, and my name's not Shirley." He grins at me, and after reading my reaction he turns back to the bookshelf, muttering to himself "F…u…s…hm?" he pulls out a book. "H-hey! Here it is!" he holds it up, as if finding a book is a major accomplishment. Fully interested in this new system, he goes back to the computer and looks for the next book on what he's suddenly calling the "prey list." On the hunt…for library books…whatever motivates him to learn, I guess!

"Hey, are you going to the swim meet tomorrow? Kaiya's going to be in it!"

"If it gets me out of writing my paper, I'm in!" I open my mouth, "Kidding! Of course I'll go. She came to the tournament after all…although that was probably for Itachi."

"She cheered for you too!" I grin evilly, and he gulps nervously. "But you're right…that _will_ take away time from working on your paper…" victory grin "so I'll just come over today after school."

"No can do!" grin gets bigger "Mom's having some lady friends over, so Dad and I aren't allowed at home. Dad's hanging out with some friends of his, and I-"

"Will come over to _my_ house so you can work on it? That's fine too." Grin gone. His eye twitches, before he gives one last half-hearted try.

"But after what happened last time, I don't think Guy-sensei would…" I hold up my phone with a grin that surpassed any of his previous ones! "I texted him after 'no can do' left your mouth, and check out his response."

_I'm glad you're helping him get interested in his education! Of course he can work at our house. Just remember that Lee will be home. _

"So ha! As Sensei said no excuses!" Naruto is looking downright miserable at this point, so I take his hand and drag him-_again_-to the computer to check out his research books.

"What about your own paper?" he scowls at my empty hands, and I grin back.

"Oh, I'm not writing a term paper."

"WHAT?"

"Kidding, I'm kidding! It's going to be how food has influenced our culture and vice versa."

His eyebrow goes up as he looks at me "A paper over food, huh? I should have known."

"You callin' me fat?"

"Wh-no! I wouldn't…why would…no!" his eyes widen as he freaks out, but I just laugh and open the door to the classroom.


	13. Chapter 13

It hurts me to say this, but I don't own Naruto. 

"The first ninja school was founded by Daisuke Togakure and Kain Doshi."

"The creation of chopsticks was set in motion by Confucius' teachings."

"There are three types of ninja. The ninja bosses, called Jonin, bossed around the Chunin, who gave _those _orders to Genin, who were just ordinary ninja-if there is such a thing!"

"Southwestern Asian curries are made from yogurt, but the southeastern uses coconut milk."

Naruto looks up from his books and smirks at me. "My facts are obviously cooler. How can you compare yogurt to ninja ranks?"

I glare up at him, but instead of replying I say: "Having fun _studying_, are we?" He cringes at the word and sticks his tongue out at me, then looks at me with grudging respect. He puts his books onto the floor and puts his arm around my shoulder, looking up at the ceiling.

"You know, no one's ever actually gotten me to study for something that I don't want to study for. And trust me, there's a _lot_ that I don't want to study for."

"Eh, you just needed the right subject to study. Who _doesn't _want to learn more about ninja?"

Naruto leaps from the couch and spins into a roundhouse kick. "I'm already in Karate; I could easily become a ninja!" He jumps up into another kick, and lands in a crouch. I watch him, mostly amused and a little skeptical.

"You have skill, Grasshopper. But you lack stealth. 'Silence is a source of great strength'."

"No need to go all Star Wars-y on me."

"That was Lao Tzu." He throws a pillow at me and I flop onto my side to dodge it. "That could've maimed me, you know!"

"Only if I'd stuffed it with rocks first. Which I considered, by the way." He walks into the kitchen and starts rummaging through the fridge, as if he owns the place! I walk up behind him.

"Worst. Boyfriend. Ev-" His lips cut me off as they suddenly meet mine, clearing my head of whatever I was going to say.

Suddenly the front door bursts open, and Naruto and I practically leap away from each other. But instead of my green-clad father, we see an angry cloud of red hair that makes Naruto stiffen.

"I hate hanging out with those, those-ugh!" Naruto's mom growls angrily. _She practically busted my door down! _She looks over at us, and suddenly her angry mood disappears, replaced by a large happy grin, very similar to Naruto's. "Hey kids. Naruto, your note said you were _studying_…I thought someone had kidnapped you and forced you to write it!"

Naruto smacks his face. "No Mom, I actually am _studying_. I'm working on my term paper."

"…over what?"

"Ninjas!"

His mom looks at him, then over at me. _I'm_ staring at the cracks in the front of my door.

"Uh…I'll pay for that."

I look over the door again. The cracks don't go through to the inside…"Nah, it adds character." She and Naruto look at each other and grin, making me feel a little weird. "So…you're, uh, here for Naruto?"

"Well, yes and no. I came to see how he was doing. If he lied and wasn't actually studying, I had to find out what he _was_ doing. And if he really was studying, I had to make sure he hadn't, like, exploded."

"Mom!"

"So," she turns to me, ignoring her son completely, "where are your parents?"

"Dad's at the gym, running."

"And your mother?"

"Ah, Mom! Don't go there…" Naruto hisses at her, looking at me apologetically.

"Its okay, Naruto. My mother-and my real father, for that matter- sort of…disappeared? Took off?" I shrug, a lot more nonchalant than a person with missing parents would usually be. "We're not sure, actually. One day they took off on a road trip-they did that a _lot_-and they didn't come back." Kushina looks at me curiously, not uncomfortably like Naruto is. "I was six at the time, and Lee was seven. Guy adopted us…six months ago? I think that's it. We already looked related…"

"Except your eyebrows are like, normal."

"Mom!" I imagine he's getting tired of saying "Mom" in embarrassment. I smirk at him.

"Ru, you said pretty much the exact same thing when you saw me!" He grins at me sheepishly.

"Ah, but I didn't know any better back then!"

"It was three months ago, I don't think you'd know any better now!" He opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "They're still alive…or at least they were when they sent us a card five years ago. Now we have no idea." Another shrug, and this time even Kushina looks a little uncomfortable. Naruto, who didn't know anything outside the fact that Guy adopted us from an orphanage, has his eyes widened in total shock.

Kushina looks at the clock on the oven, then back at Naruto. "Son, I know I said I didn't come to pick you up…but are you ready to come home?"

"Uh…" he looks over at me, and I smile back, "yeah, I think so." He and I walk back to the couch and gather his books into his bag. He throws sad glances my way, and I stick my tongue out at him, trying to lighten the mood. With a hug goodbye, he and Kushina are out the door, which is doing pretty well despite the large dent in the front.

I walk up the stairs and into my bedroom, and flop onto my bed with a sigh. It's not that I don't _miss _my parents, but…they were never around in the first place. And _they left_! If they had died, that would have been horrible, completely totally terrible, but at least it would have meant that they didn't just stop caring.

My phone vibrates, pulling me out of my thoughts.

_**Kaiya: Hey Asa! Are you ready for mah swim meet 2moro? **_

_Totally!_

Yeah, that's kind of a lame place to end, but you should review anyways! And I'm sorry it took so long, I was visiting my relatives for three weeks.

P.S- I got the ninja facts (even the ninja rank one) from .

And the food facts came from


	14. Chapter 14

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming-"

"I'm gonna hurt you, Mai."

"Ugh! I was only giving you helpful advice in catchy song format!" Kaiya stuck her tongue out as she stretched her legs, preparing for the swim meet.

"Man, I'm not gonna have any energy for all that decorating crap tomorrow." Kaiya sighed and looked at the clock. Ten minutes to go…

"Oh, you mean for the dance?" I ask. Apparently every year the student council holds a random dance that no one knows about until a month before it starts. It's a pleasant surprise…_unless_ you're on the decorating committee for that, which Kaiya and Mai are. So glad I'm not!

"Oh, by the way Asa?" I look to Kaiya. "I signed you up for the committee too! Isn't that great?"

"I hate you."

"Love you too!"

Mai nudges me. "Hey, maybe you could even drag Naruto along!" she and Kaiya laugh.

"There's laughter, why?" I glare at both of them, which only makes them laugh more.

"Naruto doesn't show up for _anything_. He's like the rebellious bad boy of the school…minus the bad boy hotness."

"Hey, my boyfriend is extremely hot, thank you very much!" It's hard to imagine Naruto as a rebellious bad boy…I blame the blonde hair and huge grin.

Kaiya rolls her eyes. "Well, he's no Itachi, but he's cute I'll give ya that!" she looks up at the clock and squeals. "OMC, it's time! Wish me luck, guys!"

"What kind?" Kaiya glares at me. "Well…I'll just wish ya good luck then!"

"_Thank_ you." The three of us walk from the locker room into the school's swimming area. The meet's being held in a town called Sunagakure, where it's _really hot._ _Really. _

And there are almost no trees! Kiha is nothing _but_ trees, so it's a new adventure for everyone! Eh…

I spot a splash of yellow and orange in the crowd, and Mai and I wave goodbye to Kaiya and walk over to sit with Naruto and Itachi. I lean my back against his legs and he bends over my head to look at me. "So what'd Guy say about the door?"

"He agreed that it added character. He painted the broken part green and said that that part of the door had proven itself."

"…what a weirdo." I shrug and nod, already well aware of Guy's…differentness. "I'm glad he's not mad though. And I'm sorry about my Mom, by the way."

"Yeah, so said the four text messages you sent me today. It's fine, honestly!" I smile at him, and then turn to Itachi. "So, Itachi!" He turns to me in surprise. "It's been a while since I talked to you last. What's up?"

"Ah…not much, thank you for asking. Things have been rather quiet lately."

"Huh…I should do something to fix that." He looks from me to Naruto, who has an evil grin on his face. Itachi's probably terrified, as he should be! Imagine what chaos Naruto and I could create!

"And now," a voice pours from the speakers above, hushing the audience, "it's time for the Sunagakure swim meet to begin!" Loud cheers. "Swimmers on your marks…" Kaiya and the others line up on the platforms "get set…GO!"

The swimmers burst into the water, three or four of them pulling far ahead of the rest. I look around for Kaiya, and spot her neck and neck for second place!

"Go, Kaiya! GOOO!" I shout.

"I don't think she heard you…" Naruto says from behind me, as Kaiya starts slowing down, falling into third.

Time to try again! "HEY KAIYA, I'M TALKIN TO YOOOU! YOU BETTER HURRY UP!" She rushes up-yay!-and catches up with the others, turning on the wall at the same time. She even manages to get ahead!

A guy with dark hair stares over at me from the bleacher below me, to my left. Then he looks up at Naruto. "Dude, tell your…whatever to keep it down."

Naruto and I? We're in perfect sync. "YOU GOTTA PROBLEM, DUDE!"

Mr. Dude stares between us, then at Itachi and Mai. No support there. "Agh, never mind!" he turns away, disgusted.

"What a jerk wad." Mai sticks her tongue out at him, and then we turn back to watch Kaiya, who's now in…FIRST PLACE!

"Itachi, you gotta yell too!"

"…but I'm not much of a yeller, you see…"

Not to be deterred, I grab his arm and wave it in the air, shouting. His look reminds me of those sweet dogs that let little kids pull their ears…should I be offended? Naruto, who can reach Itachi's arm a lot easier than I can, takes over for me and starts his own shouting.

Kaiya and the others start their final laps, Kaiya still in the lead but not by much. The girl to the right of her starts to catch up, but Kaiya keeps her behind until…WIIIIIIIINNNNNNNERRRRRRR! Mai, Naruto, Itachi and I all stand up, Itachi applauding politely while the rest of us explode in cheering awesomeness! Kaiya pulls herself out of the water, with a grin that rivaled Naruto's. The official put a medal around her neck, and then she ran at us, hugging Mai with a _squish_. She turns to me, and I hold my hands up. "Whoa! I'm happy for ya, but no. No wet hugs for me, thanks!"

She glares at me, but her face changes the second Itachi puts his arms around her, ignoring her soaking swimsuit. "Congratulations, Kaiya. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Ita!" Kaiya grins, then excuses herself to change in the locker rooms, leaving her medal hanging on Itachi's neck.

* * *

_Why not? I don't think it will kill you._

_**it ttly wood! Theres no way im doin that!**_

_ONE day? You can't do it with me for ONE day? And it's WOULD, by the way. _

_**nope. And dont care. **_

_Thanks, Ru. You're awesome. NOT! :P_

_**Come on Asa! Decorating? Do I LOOK like a decoratr?**_

As you can probably figure out, I asked Naruto if he wanted to come help with the dance decorating that _I _was dragged into without any options. If I skipped after I was signed up, Dad would spend an hour lecturing me about handling my responsibilities, whether I'd been the one to volunteer or not!

_It would only be the heavy lifting and stuff! _Kaiya told me that no guys ever showed up, so it took about twenty girls to lift the backdrop platform and carry ladders and huge buckets of paint.

…_**yea?**_

_Yes! We just need a big, strong guy who could carry ladders for us. And you're the strongest, most muscled guy I've ever met! _Yes. I just lied. But Naruto responds well to flattery, thanks to his blown up ego.

_**i **_**am**_** prtty buff, aint i? **_

I can just imagine him flexing his biceps while he sent that last text. I pause for a second, taking in the glorious scene taking place in my mind…ahem, never mind! _Well, yeah! That's why I asked you! _

_**Ok i'll com. But only for hevy lfting! and i'll need a reward aftr.**_

_...ramen?_

_**Thatd be awsum, too. But I wuz thinkin more like u and me, sittin at the movies, **_**not **_**watchin the movie…**_

_That could happen…IF you don't complain while we're decorating._

_**Done! i'll come by ur house at 2 so we can walk 2gether.**_

_Twos can't walk…but you and I could walk together. _Instead of hearing the vibrations for messages, my phone rings signaling a phone call.

"…hullo, Naruto."

"_I have _got _to teach you how to text right!"_

"Strange, I was thinking I should teach you how to _spell_ right, Mister 'Wood'."

"_They're text messages, not essays!"_

"Gah, but you're a _junior _in _high school_. Surely you can do better than spelling 'was' W-U-Z!" I pause for a second, then continue on while trying to be a non-annoying girlfriend. "Oh well. We don't have to agree on everything, right?"

"_Right! So, I'll see you at two?" _

"Yup, see you then!" I hit the end button, and flop down onto my bed, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.


End file.
